Talk to Me
by sillynekorobs
Summary: Jak never really has been very good with words, especially now when it comes to telling Daxter how he feels. Jak x human Dax
1. Chapter 1

AN: Who would have ever thought my first semi-romantic attempt would be about a game? I'm a sucky gamer, I'll be the first to admit it… anyway. I saw a cute angle and ran with it.

So you'll know, this fic is dedicated one hundred percent to enolianslave, Demyrie, Keysha-chan (even though she doesn't really do yaoi…) and all the other awesome _Jak_ _and Daxter_ artists on deviantART. What a great chance that I inadvertently stumbled across their work! I hope this trifle can measure up in any way to the talent and devotion those guys show in their art. Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

**Disclaimer:** Obviously I make no profit from writing this. It be just for fun. Jak, Dax and the crew belong to Naughty Dog, which I guess is a good thing. They're really much safer over there where the fangirls can't get to them any more than necessary.

**The Obligatory Heads-UP:** No likie yaoi? Don't know what yaoi is? Then scoot, peeps. This fic isn't for yous.

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_He's got hair like a sunset._

_All golden at the roots, blends to vibrant orange as it flows up in a wild, untamable plume, finally trailing off to fiery red at the ends. He's got deep blue eyes like the circle around a full moon before the sky fades to black, and the freckles scattered across his full cheeks and pert nose remind me of the beach, small bits of sand clinging even after the sun sets and it's time to go home. _

_And those teeth… those big, silly buckteeth that are the first to show when he grins, which is a lot and that makes me happy since I've been enthralled by those teeth since I was about five years old…_

_Huh. _

_See, it all comes out fine when I say it to myself. I think it's almost like poetry, in a way, if I knew anything about poetry. Unfortunately, finally gaining the ability to speak did not guarantee my ability to speak __well__. I couldn't say that out loud if I had a gun to my head set on Vulcan Fury._

_What kills me is that he's still here. He's got no reason to be. I let him down; I never kept my promise to turn him back into his old self. He finally did, figured it out on his own, but still. He was orange and furry for YEARS. Still is, most of the time. I don't know how he stands it. But he's never talked about leaving. _

_For some reason he's still here. Playing the pet, riding around on my shoulder, crawling around in the dirt and grease and oil under the Javelin X instead of trying to figure out just what kind of random mystic powers the Precursors threw at him…_

_He never left me. Through thick and thin, we're still us, the Demolition Duo. It was in his hands to break that, but he didn't. Never gave it a thought. I'm still his best friend. He still goes out of his way to make me smile, make me laugh, make me feel wanted, needed._

_And I guess that's why._

_That's why I love you, Daxter._

O.O.O.O.O

"Is everybody almost ready?"

Jak jumped at the sound of Tess's voice, an arm instinctively jerking up to cover the sheet of paper he'd been concentrating upon so intensely. He relaxed a moment later; it was alright, he was still alone at his little table. Everyone else remained likewise seated apart from the others, busy with their own paper.

"Remember," Tess said from the bar, absently licking the stub of her pencil, "it has to be a _big_ secret. A secret you've never told anyone. Something you'd never want anyone else to know." She shot a suspicious look at the others. "And keep your eyes on your own paper! No peeking!"

"Yes, teacher." Keira grinned, trading a playfully stuck out tongue with the blonde girl before bending over her paper once more.

A harsh wind howled outside the Naughty Ottsel. Occasionally the already dim lights gave a staccato flicker, threatening but never going out completely. No one noticed, preoccupied in their own silent work. Jak shook his head, glancing back down at what he had almost unconsciously written.

He didn't know what had prompted Tess to suggest such a game. She called it simply "I've Got a Secret," and all it involved was everyone writing one down in private and then all together getting rid of the evidence. It could be any secret, silly or serious, as long as it was a real secret; no one else knew, and you had no plans of telling. You could write as much or as little about it as you wanted, as long as you clearly stated what your secret was.

According to Tess, it was supposed to clear your conscience.

Jak didn't know about that, but he was willing to give it a try. As long as the paper would be destroyed in a few minutes and no one saw it in the meantime, what was the harm?

Running a hand through his green-blonde hair that was once again beginning to lengthen, Jak tapped the pencil's eraser against the paper. He himself was pretty much finished, unless he wanted to go into graphic detail. The thought made him flush slightly, bending low over the paper and jabbing it rapidly with the eraser as blood rushed to his face and long ears.

No, definitely not. Better to leave his little statement as it was, where it might still be considered a somewhat sappy declaration of brotherly love if it were read. Admitting that he loved his best friend was one thing, but going so far as to say he'd maybe… possibly… _perhaps_… like to _kiss_ Daxter…

Well, that was another matter entirely.

Daxter. Habit compelled Jak to look around for his friend. A moment's scan of the room found the redhead nearly hidden in a corner booth, scribbling industriously. Long ears flicked unconsciously as he wrote, tongue clenched slightly in his teeth.

Jak grinned. He could imagine ottsel Dax in the same position, only with an agitated tail flipping from side to side as he tackled the paper. Dax always flipped his tail when he was concentrating. It was often the only bit of ottsel seen peeking from beneath a busted vehicle in the garage, and as a consequence had once or twice almost been stepped on.

Shaking his head, Jak looked back down at his contribution to the game. Yep, he'd consider it done. Idly he began to doodle in the margin as he waited for the others to finish. He couldn't help but wonder, though, what secret Daxter was writing about…

O.O.O.O.O

_I guess since everybody in this room right now knows I can switch from ottsel ta human and back again it doesn't really count as a secret, huh? Even though they're the only ones that know, but still. Man, that blew my best ammo right there!_

_In a way it's kinda nice, though. I can be my sexy ol' self whenever I want and still have the "honor" of struttin' it as a holy beast in front of the ignorant masses. Was a snap ta do, too, once I had the idea. _

_One day it just came ta me an' I thought to myself, Dax, if Jakky-boy can go dark n' light n' growly n' glowy, why wouldn't you be able ta get lookin' human again? The first time wasn't much fun, but after that it got easier. Nowadays it's smooth like I been doin' it forever! Brag, brag, I like ta brag… okay, sure, maybe there was that one time I sneezed in the middle and walked around human with an ottsel tail an' ears for a couple'a hours, but we won't mention that…_

_Tessy picked it up right away too. I think it was a relief ta her in a way, knowin' she wouldn't be furry forever. Women, a little extra hair anywhere on 'em an' they go nuts, I tell ya… She's mostly human still, doesn't like goin' back an' forth much, but that's good since that's the Tess people are used to. We try ta keep it on the down-low, you know, play it cool. It's our secret; me an' Jak an' Tessy an' Keira, Ashe, Torn (blegh!), Vin, an' Sig. Oh, an' Samos an' the Precursors, but log-head counts fer nothin' an' the Precursors don't really give a damn anyway._

_So Orange Lightning's not gone, not by a long shot. In fact, he went down Tessy-poo's shirt just yesterday. Long live the ottsel king, I say, until the timing's right. But when that time comes… Heh, one day I'll snap, drop the fur an' have Pecker by the neck before the bird brain knows what hit him. But until then it's still a secret I can't even use! Grrr!_

_Lemme see, what've I done lately I don't want anybody to know about… Come on, Dax, runnin' outa time, here… Okay, I got it. I collected a pair of undies from each of the girls last week. Orange Lightning can negotiate a dark dresser drawer like nobody's business, that's fer sure. They're my trophies an' I love 'em._

_Haven't told Jak, he'd just make me put 'em back. _

_Heh, Jak. Ya gotta love him, too._

O.O.O.O.O

"Okay, half hour's up! Hand 'em in, everybody."

It came as no surprise that no one moved to hand their papers to anyone.

Tess sighed. "Or just hold onto them yourself and bring them up here while I light the fire…"

With what seemed a collective sigh of relief, chairs shrieked and floorboards groaned in protest all across the room as the other seven participants made to gather at the bar, already folding or crinkling their papers into small, non-readable shapes. Tess had come well prepared, clattering about behind the bar for a moment before placing a small portable grill on top of the worn wood.

"For some reason I'm craving marshmallows," Keira said absently as her friend removed the top and tipped in some coals. "So Tess, why the sudden urge to play a game? I know we don't all get to hang out a lot, but…"

"No offense, but it's kind of a weird game, too." Amazingly (or not), Ashelin didn't seem all that concerned that she might have offended.

Daxter grinned hugely, watching his friends shift uncomfortably and mash their papers into smaller and smaller balls. "Well, obviously Tessy's got her own dirty little secret. Just wanted an opportunity ta get somethin' off yer chest, huh Tessy-kins?"

Tess flipped her hair haughtily, then gave an impish wink as she struck a match and dropped it into the metal basin of the grill. "Maybe."

A thin trickle of smoke drifted upwards, spiraling and quickly dissipating as it was caught by one of the many drafts that remained constant in the old saloon. The entrance door rattled in the background, rocked by the increasing wind. Vin jumped, looking around almost guiltily. Dax grinned wider.

He hadn't thought it would be this hard to refrain from clamoring to see the papers, but his friends were practically advertising how much fun could be had by whoever discovered what they'd written. Vin behind his ever-present goggles looked like he might faint at the slightest provocation, Ashelin appeared ready to slug whomever looked oddly in her direction, and even Jak was giving his immediate surrounding a shifty-eyed glare.

Oh Precursors. Jak!

If there was one paper that Daxter wanted to read, it would be Jak's. A secret so deep, so dark, so… _secret_ that Jak hadn't told it to _Daxter_, his best-est best friend since forever, his number one confidant, his most loyal and wonderful and trustworthy sidekick… Now _that _was a secret!

And slowly an idea began to form in the redhead's mind.

The Precursors knew a lot. They had to, being Precursors. But how did they get their information? They had to obtain their vast knowledge _somehow_. And, if Daxter was now technically almost sorta kinda a Precursor himself… there had to be_ some_ way he could find out what was written on those papers without the others finding out about his finding out.

Long ears slicked back as a slightly wicked smile exposed prominent front teeth. He had no idea how he would pull it off, but where there was a will -- and the slightest influence of Precursor powers -- there was a way.

"Okay…" Tess announced. "Ready and waiting." The small flames were now flickering merrily, casting dim shadows despite the wane lights of the room. "Who's first?"

No one moved.

Sig coughed. Keira shuffled her feet. Torn awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

Dax' gaze bounced furtively around the room. Somehow,_ somehow_, he needed an _idea_! Then the barest breath of a draft wafted a stinging hot plume of smoke into his eyes.

With a muffled curse Daxter reached up to wipe away the tears that had immediately welled… and had his answer.

He struggled to keep a straight face, casually collecting as much of the moisture as he could onto an index finger. If _this_ wasn't a sign from the little furry deities, he didn't know a metalhead from a whumpbee.

"Daxxie, you okay?" Tess asked concernedly, waving a hand briskly to dissipate the smoke.

The redhead pretended to blot at his face with a sleeve. "Don't sweat it, Tessy, I'm good. An' I'll be happy ta go first." The plan was a definite go.

No one, not even Jak, noticed the small crackle of eco as Daxter sauntered up to the bar, paper wad in hand. Flashing what he hoped was a dashing smile at Tess, he placed the very tip of the finger to the rim of the grill, quickly tracing a complete circle around its edge. The saltwater and eco mixture instantly sizzled into vapor as it touched the hot metal, evaporating almost immediately.

Tess quirked a golden brow questioningly.

"Nice an' hot!" Happily flipping his slightly scorched hand, Dax ceremoniously tossed his paper into the fire. "Burn, baby, burn."

With everyone intently watching his secret go up in flames, he had no trouble not being noticed as he stepped back from the bar once more and unobtrusively rubbed the small bit of soot his finger had collected back into his eyes. Unsurprisingly, it burned. A lot.

_Damn, there had to be an easier way to do this, _he thought crankily… until the next upward-drifting pillar of smoke confirmed his success. Hazy letters swirled and eddied in the air currents, but were nonetheless entirely readable: _**undies from each of the girls.**_ No one else noticed a thing.

"Score one for the Dax-man," he murmured to himself as the smoky message floated towards the ceiling.

As if his paper's demise had been the signal everyone was waiting for, the minor tension present before suddenly vanished. Keira laughed at something Ashelin whispered to her. Jak and Torn began to push good-naturedly to be the next in line, but Sig beat them to it.

"Right, cherries, I gotta be goin' soon so here goes."

Daxter watched Sig's little ball of paper closely as it slowly uncurled and began to burn. It had been mashed up quite small and so took a while to catch, but when it did the tell-tale words began to form.

"_**I still can't sleep without the monkaw stuffie Mama made me when I was little."**_

Dax quickly covered his mouth to block the snort of laughter. Sig and a plush monkaw toy… wasn't that just the sweetest picture? Now every time he saw the big man while in ottsel guise he'd be tempted to offer up a hug, being a cute little fluffy animal and all. Dax was sure _that_ would fly over well.

"Come on, Vin, you go next," Jak offered, giving the ivory-haired scientist a nudge toward the bar.

Vin shrugged, stepping forward with a nervous smile. Pulling a pair of laboratory tongs out of his long white coat, he used them to carefully deliver his paper (folded in a perfectly angled dodecahedron) to the precise center of the fire.

"_**When no one else is in the lab I like to dance and sing really loud,"**_ Dax read as the twelve-sided mathematical shape began to cave in on itself inside the flames. He had to turn away to hide his merriment. Orange Lightning's next undercover operation: infiltrate the lab and see Vin in action!

Keira stepped up next, stirring the accumulating ashes a bit with a screwdriver pulled from… seemingly nowhere, as she wasn't in current possession of her tool belt. Dax shrugged it off. After all, it was always pleasant to think about girls with hard objects in their pants.

In went the paper. Up spiraled: _**"I killed Daxter's pet lizard when we were eleven. I promise I didn't MEAN to smash it with the wrench…"**_

The redhead barely smothered a squeal of indignation, ears shooting almost vertical in his outrage. Back then she'd told him Jak's crocadog had eaten Stripes! Oh, wow, and then he'd poured hot peppers into the thing's food and hidden the water bowl… Well, how was he to know the crocadog was innocent?

Still stewing over the lizard, Dax almost missed Torn's secret going into the pyre.

"_**I fantasize about Commander Ashelin using her position to order me into doing dirty things with her. In my favorite dream she ties me up and whips me wearing just her combat boots."**_

"Dax, are you alright?" Concerned, Jak patted his friend on the back as Daxter bent double in what appeared to be a spasm of coughing and shaking.

"Fine, fine," he gasped, trying to force the laughter down and cover it with a few faux coughs. "Just the smoke's gettin' ta me, y'know?"

Boy was _that_ the truth! He'd almost hate to see the rest of what had been on that paper, if indeed Torn had expanded the view of his "happy place." Dax was sure he couldn't have been the_ only_ one to write more than a couple of sentences in the half hour they were given.

Almost before he had recovered, Ashelin marched up wearing her no-nonsense look. Giving Torn a quick sidelong glance she added her paper. _**"One day I will pull rank and abduct Torn to be my pleasure slave. No one will suspect when I say that he's disappeared on a mission, when in reality he'll be upstairs shackled to my bed. …Bet that soldier rides like a wild leaper."**_

"He's h-having an asthma attack!" Vin announced, shoving an open circle around Daxter as the redhead nearly crumpled to the floor, hacking and choking and fighting for air. "S-stand back, give him some r-room, guys!"

Dax clutched his ribs, biting the inside of his cheek as hard as he could to hold back the hysterical laughter building inside. He tried to breathe deeply and momentarily put the knowledge from his mind. Who knew their friends were so perverse? He absolutely could not _wait_ to tell Jak!

"Dax, seriously, are you okay?" The green-blonde in question worriedly helped Daxter up off the floor, allowing his weak-kneed friend to lean fully against him. "Maybe we should get you out away from the smoke, huh?"

Tess let an unsure hand waver near the handle of a water jug she'd made ready. "Really, we can put the fire out right now if you… I mean, there's other ways of playing the game!"

"Sissy," Torn grumbled, not quite under his breath.

Dax waved a wobbly hand, heaving several more deep breaths to kill the laughter. Oh, if only Torn knew the horrible fate that awaited him, _then_ they'd see who cried like a sissy! He and Ashe deserved each other. "No, no, I'm fine, really! Go ahead an' keep goin', there's only you an' Jak left anyway."

"Okay, if you're sure…" Giving Daxter a last slightly suspicious look, Tess ripped her secret-bearing sheet out of the notebook she'd been using and quickly began to fold it up tight.

"While we're waitin'… go ahead, big guy. It's all you."

Jak stirred at the nudge to his ribs, hand reflexively clenching around his paper wad. However, he did concede to remove the arm he'd been holding carefully around Daxter, ready in the event of his friend passing out after all and falling on his head. "Right. Interesting game this turned out to be."

"Hey, next time we could play cards!" Keira suggested as Jak casually flicked his paper at the fire. "Or Truth-or-Dare. That's a fun one, too."

"Anyone know how to play ch-chess?" Vin asked.

"Oh, I know!" Sig suddenly caught Daxter from behind, affectionately burying a set of knuckles in his red hair. "How 'bout we play pin the tail on the ottsel, huh? That'll be fun, won't it, _Daxxie?_"

"Gyaah! Leggo, lurker-breath, gerroff me!" Dax squalled, putting up a prompt struggle. By the time he'd managed to weasel free of the bigger man's grasp, the last of the paper Jak had thrown had crumbled to ash.

_Damn it!_ he pouted silently as Sig laughed, one hand rubbing his bruised head. _Sig, ya jerk, ya made me miss it! Jeez, an' the only one I really wanted ta know, too! Well… maybe I can talk him inta tellin' me later if I tell him mine first, or somethin'…_

Distracted as he was, the redhead almost didn't notice the vague words hanging on the edge of his vision until he turned his head slightly and they all but hit him in the face. Snorting a bit to get the smoke out of his airspace, he shook his head and brought the message into focus.

"_**I love you, Daxter."**_

His mouth dropped open.

No way. No way that could be Jak's secret.

Dax glanced quickly around, the smoky words seeming to follow his movements. He hadn't noticed before, but the other secrets that had earlier drifted toward the rafters had begun to come back down. "Rides like a wild leaper" was draped across Torn's head like a bandana, while "in just her combat boots" trailed happily at Ashelin's heels. Looking down, Dax noticed "killed Daxter's lizard" slinking almost contritely about his feet.

So they went to the people they were directed at, huh? It seemed true, as Vin and Sig's, the ones having no specific target, were floating happily about the room. Still, no one else seemed the wiser.

The troublesome phrase was circling his chest.

Uncertainly, Daxter held out a hand and let "love" drift across his palm. Yeah, that was what Jak had written. There was no other explanation; Tess hadn't burned hers yet, and even if she had it was no secret that the two of them flirted constantly. But…_ why_ had Jak written something like that?

Unless…

He shot a look at his oh-so-stoic friend, currently and rather calmly being ragged by Torn and Sig about how Razor only came in second so he could stay behind Jak and feast his eyes for most of the race.

Oh, but _of course!_ That _had_ to be it!

Jak was embarrassed about admitting that he loved his little buddy.

It made perfect sense, now that Dax thought about it. Sure Jak the tough guy, Jak the hero, Jak the champion racer wouldn't want something like that to be known. It was a manly thing. But still… he had admitted it, if indirectly.

Damn. When was the last time someone had told him they loved him? Daxter couldn't be sure. Heck, now that he thought about it he couldn't quite recall if anyone, not even Tessy-kins, had _ever_ said that to him.

A warm fuzzy began to grow. Dax smiled, swirling the letters about with an index finger. Aww. Jak was just a big ol' softie after all. He'd have to remember to be extra chummy to Jak for a while. Extra ottsel cuddles all around. Maybe even a cheek nuzzle or two.

All in private, of course.

Heaving a happy sigh of contentment, Dax crossed his arms and insolently leaned up against Jak once more, casually resting most of his slight weight on his friend. Jak didn't budge, other than to drape the arm across Daxter's shoulders again with a curious glance. It was like leaning against a wall, Dax reflected, just a wall that would reach out to support you. And was slightly softer than average.

"Here it goes, guys. End of the game, so somebody be thinking up the next one!"

Enjoying the warm weight of Jak's strongly muscled arm he turned his attention back to Tess, who had neatly folded her paper into the shape of a swan and was preparing to send it soaring into the fire. She flicked long, graceful fingers and the bird took flight, alighting in the center of the ashes.

Daxter sighed again as he watched Tess's secret go up in flames. He had his humanity. He had good liquor, good friends, and most importantly, his best pal. They were all warm and relaxed and there was no immediate threat of death or dismemberment.

He smiled lazily as the first swirling smoke letters of Tess's began to curl out of the basin. Life was pretty good.

"_**I gave Jinx a free blowjob yesterday."**_

It was a full ten seconds before Daxter responded.

"GAAAWD NOOOOOOOOO--!!"

O.O.O.O.O

"Why…? Ah mean, re'ly, Jak, _why?_ Why'd she havta go an' do som'thin' like dat for? So wrong, s' jus' so… _wrong!_"

Jak sighed in frustration, shifting Daxter in his arms as he fumbled for the door lock. "Dax, for the last time, I have no idea what you're talking about! And for some strange reason I don't think I'd understand you any better if you _weren't_ drunk off your furry ass."

Jak was getting worried.

Daxter had had the strangest fit at the Naughty Ottsel, suddenly keeling over with a bloodcurdling shriek. Before anyone could stop him or even find out what was wrong, he had staggered to his feet and launched himself behind the bar. A flash of eco and he'd emerged in ottsel form, clutching a liquor bottle nearly as big as himself. Ignoring all questions and exclamations, he had leaped into Jak's arms, cracked open the bottle, and demanded to be carried home.

By the time they arrived at their shabby "home" on the outskirts of the city half the alcohol was gone. Jak was left juggling the bottle, Daxter's human clothes that had immediately become too large upon his transformation, and a very drunk ottsel who had begun to babble incomprehensively midway through the walk and hadn't stopped slurring since. He wished he had even the faintest idea what had happened to upset Daxter so much.

Kicking the door shut behind them, Jak made a beeline through the dark living area to the small kitchen, placing the bottle firmly inside a high cabinet. "And here's where I cut you off for the night, buddy," he said softly to the limp orange creature draped in his grasp.

Daxter whined minutely but let it go. He was plenty groggy already, but still had the sense to not try forcing it down to the point where he was sick. If that happened, Jak wouldn't let him sleep in the bed, and that was bad 'cause their dilapidated old sofa was cold and lumpy and the little warm crevice between Jak's curled arm and the pillow was not.

"'Kay Jak, fine, you win. I'm tru… fin'shed… 'm done, promise."

Jak wondered at the unexpected lack of protest, but was grateful enough to not wonder too much. Finding his way to the single bedroom by feel, he gently set Daxter on the edge of the bed and began to undress in the dark. Dax promptly rolled off.

"Jak, I fell on'a floor," he whimpered pitifully from his upside down position on the rug next to the low bed.

"Oh, for the love of…" Jak growled in exasperation as his tight shirt caught around his ears. "Hang on, I'll be right there."

Dax, however, was disinclined to wait. Wriggling his way upright, he took stock of the bed and frowned. The room was slanting, he was sure, leaving him at an unfair leaping disadvantage. If he jumped for it he'd fall again and he didn't want that. Instead, he balanced unsteadily with the help of his tail and concentrated as best he could.

Jak spun at the eco flash, nearly blinding in the dark room, and was in time to see his best friend collapse in a sprawling heap on top of the rickety bed as its springs shrieked in annoyance. Human once more, Dax now took up most of it.

"Hey, no!" Snapping his fingers as he used to at his misbehaving crocadog, Jak kicked his boots into the corner and stalked over. "Dax, come on, get up and change back."

As Dax still spent most of his time ottsel and thus was able to sleep quite comfortably alongside him, they'd never bothered to get a second bed that would only take up more space in their small living quarters. Jak was afraid he might be about to regret that decision.

Daxter rolled over, already nearly asleep, clutching Jak's pillow with a muffled growl. "Later. 'M too tired. An' I'm emo… 'moshun'lly distraught."

"I'll put you on the couch, Dax," Jak warned halfheartedly, wondering for the twentieth time what exactly his friend was 'emotionally distraught' about. "There's barely enough room for both of us on there under normal circumstances."

"But dis _ish _me normal," Dax managed to grumble.

Jak winced at that. The redhead had a point. It was proof that he had begun to see ottsel Dax as the natural one. Silently he thanked the Precursors that Dax had found a way back to his original self before Jak forgot what he really looked like sans tail and fur.

"Alright, fine," he whispered finally. "So you're drunk, you're tired, and you're sick of being Orange Lightning for now. That's great. But I'm not sleeping on that damn couch either, so at least get up and put some clothes on!"

A soft snore met the demand.

Jak crossed his arms and glared, then ran twitching fingers through his tangled hair. He refused to sleep on the all-but-broken sofa, and the floor was hard as the stone it was. However, despite his annoyance, he didn't want to kick Daxter out of the bed either. Truth be told, he probably wouldn't even be able to sleep without his friend curled up beside him in either form. That left him with but one rather awkward choice.

"Fine," Jak hissed, shoving Daxter over and climbing into bed. "But all be damned if I'll put your pants on for you, so if you've got any problems with this in the morning you'll have no one to bitch at but yourself."

There was no response from the former ottsel. Jak set about trying to wrestle the blankets from under his friend, grumbling all the while. Dax was all limp gangly limbs and dead weight, so it was no mean feat.

"Quit movin' 'round, Jak!"

"Oh, shut up." Jak resisted the impulse to thump Daxter in his drunken red head and finally dubbed them as situated as they were likely to get, back to back on the narrow bed. He sighed irritably. By all rights he should be sitting pretty on a feather-stuffed mattress in the grandest suite in the palace. Then there'd be plenty of space for the two of them.

_No, wait, that's not right,_ he thought absently.

If he ever got a permanent place in the palace that would mean things had calmed down enough for Daxter to no longer have to keep up his ottsel ruse. In that case, Dax would have his _own_ room. There'd be no sense in them sleeping together then, right?

_Right_, Jak told himself firmly, and shut his eyes.

Speaking of the palace... Ashelin had requested him there tomorrow morning. Dax would surely want to stop by the bar to see Tess before they went, so they'd have to be up pretty early… if Dax was able. He'd probably be hung over as hell. Grinning, the green-blonde shifted into a more comfortable position and settled down to the task of falling asleep despite Daxter squirming at his back.

"Quit movin' 'round, Dax," he teased, lightly nudging with an elbow. "Thought you were tired and distraught."

"Dis'raught… yeah," came the distant reply.

Daxter wriggled, kicking at the blankets. He wasn't comfortable inside or out. The sting of Tess's revelation had yet to subside, and he was crunched up and unable to even find a decent position to sleep in. Was there no justice in the world? Finally, heaving a melodramatic sigh, he rolled over and snuggled up to Jak.

Jak jumped when Daxter's head unexpectedly landed on his shoulder, one of the redhead's arms snaking around his waist. The hero blushed hotly, trying not to move a muscle as Dax settled flush against him.

He'd been doing good with the situation thus far, keeping himself distanced from the reality of it, but now that Daxter was pressed snugly against him it had become too obvious… he could deny it no longer… Jak in pants, Dax in nothing. He was being cuddled by his naked best friend.

_Best friend_, Jak reminded himself with gritted teeth as Dax's hand fell on his bicep and began to absently trace the musculature. _Best friend. We do NOT think bad thoughts about our best friend, you freak. That dark eco must've messed you up more than we thought…_

Unaware of the distress he was causing, Daxter sighed again, this time in near contentment. "Now 'at's more like it. Yer a pretty comfer'ble pillow, big guy. Nice n' warm, too."

"Glad to hear it," Jak deadpanned.

Daxter was plenty warm as well, draped over Jak's bare torso, taking up much more space than when he was ottsel. His wild pouf of thick red hair tickled at the underside of Jak's chin, making him bite off a laugh. It really was rather comfortable, now that he thought about it, with Dax's warm breath (whistling just slightly past his front teeth) brushing over his chest and Dax's legs tangled with his own…

Snapping back to his senses, Jak tried desperately to think the situation through. So he had established that he was attracted to Daxter. He couldn't really explain it, but there it was. Now, the question became _why? _Why Daxter instead of, oh say, Keira?

He'd known Keira a long time. She was beautiful and sexy. She was sweet and polite, giggly and girly and a bitchin' mechanic. Most of his happy memories included her. Keira in her cute little sun dresses back in Sandover, trying out her first baking experiments on him and Dax, trailing along with them on their childish adventures and explores. She was… simply Keira.

He'd known Daxter… as long as he could remember. Daxter was… well, maybe not beautiful. He was loud and obnoxious and unrepentant about it. Most of his memories period involved Daxter. All the best ones did. Getting into trouble and getting out of it again, racing the waves on Sentinel Beach, doing nothing for hours on end then taking a break for a nap before going back to cloud gazing and whispered secrets…

Alright, so his attraction was logical.

He'd fallen hard for the person he was closest to, the person he hadn't been separated from for even a day from the time they first met until Jak's kidnapping and imprisonment, and hadn't been apart from for more than a few hours since his rescue.

The only one who'd actually had the tenacity to doggedly hunt down clues to his whereabouts, then follow through to find him and break him out of that hellish place mostly intact…

Jak unconsciously relaxed, winding an arm of his own around Dax's ribs. Never mind. Best not to think about that. He was safe now, Dax was there, and the happy memories would be more than enough to keep his brain occupied. He could always puzzle out his odd romantic tendencies later; he'd been drifting off topic anyway.

He was almost asleep when Daxter shifted again, suddenly gripping Jak's green goatee and giving an insistent tug.

"Hey!"

"Jak, got a quesh'un for ya."

"Dax, would you just go to sleep?"

"Jus' tell me an' I'll sleep, 'kay?" Dax pressed.

Jak sighed in annoyance at the redheaded, bucktoothed, buck-naked wonder who was doing such a good job of confusing him lately. "Alright. I'll answer one question, and after that you'll pass out and be a good little sleeping drunk 'til morning, agreed?"

"'Greed." Daxter propped himself up on his elbows and nodded, flyaway hair going every which way. Willing himself not to go cross eyed, he fixed Jak with a serious stare. "So, Jak… ya love me, right?"

Jak's heart skipped a beat.

He looked up at Dax in a panic, ready to deny everything for the split second before reason prevailed. Why was Dax asking him something like that, and at a time like this? But no, that wasn't at issue right now. Right now, he had to tell Dax _something._ Warily, Jak debated his answer.

He couldn't remember ever having lied to Dax before, and he didn't particularly want to start now. Besides, his friend was very, very drunk. Odds were he wouldn't even remember this strange conversation in the morning.

Jak took a quick breath, swallowed. Tried to re-ignore the fact that his hand was resting on Dax's bare waist, mere inches from...

"Yes."

In the dark, he could just make out Dax's face as it split into a wide, warm smile, his friend looking down at him with that lopsided, bucktoothed grin that had become one of Jak's favorite sights in the world. The look robbed Jak of breath, gave him butterflies, made his heart shoot to his throat, and all because it was Daxter and he'd made him happy.

"Yeah, Dax," he whispered. "I love you."

"Good." Daxter continued to smile, fondly patting Jak's hair as if to tell him he'd been a good boy. "So 'at means ya won' ever give Jinx head."

Jak's eye twitched.

"Hell no I would not!" he exploded, a disgusted grimace in place as he shoved Dax off his chest. "That is nasty! As if I'd want my mouth anywhere near his dirty… That's just sick! Go to sleep and don't think about shit like that, for Precursors' sake!"

Jak collapsed back onto the bed in a full blown huff, facing pointedly away from his bemused friend. Heart still pounding, he was remotely glad that the darkness hid his raging blush.

Here he'd been getting all knotted up about some stupid sappy _look_ Dax was giving him and the little idiot went and said something like _that. _So much for their little "moment."

Dax rustled with the blankets briefly before attempting to cozy up to Jak once more. Jak wanted none of it.

"I said _sleep_, you drunk ass!"

"'M sleepin', 'm sleepin' right now," the redhead assured, snugly curling himself up against Jak's back whether the hero wanted it or not. "Hey, Jak?"

Jak could almost feel Daxter smiling against his back. He gritted his teeth and fought the urge to beat the clingy little shit with a pillow. "_What._"

"Love you too."

Yawning, Dax gave his motionless buddy a final squeeze and soon after drifted off. Jak, however, lay awake for quite some time, absently drumming his fingers to refrain from playing with Daxter's hair. He sighed. Life could be so weird sometimes.

Shrugging it off, Jak finally closed his eyes. For now he could only rest, and imagine what Daxter's response would be in the morning…

O.O.O.O.O

To Be Continued! (hopefully…)

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AN: Hmmm… I think Jak talked too much. And a little something about Dax was slightly off. (pokes fic) But other than that…not too shabby for an entirely unplanned fic that got mostly written in less than a week. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Reviews and _constructive_ criticism are always appreciated.

Odds are eight to two this'll be updated, but it might take a while as finals are swiftly approaching. (Who says the horrors of college are preferable to a career working at Arby's? Not me…)

The rating may also possibly be subject to change in the future, and if that happens the… _ahem_… more risqué bits will be transferred over to my AFF account.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Looks like it's update time. This silly fic is having a hard time deciding what it wants to be, romance or comedy, and I'm not doing anything to help it make up its mind, since I like both. I'll just let it be and see where it goes. It's really fun to write, especially Dax. Thanks for the reviews, everybody!

**Disclaimer:** Characters, names, and places still belong to Naughty Dog. I still make no profit from writing this. In fact, I'm positive it's helping to give me carpel tunnel, so_ I'll_ wind up paying in the long run, for medical expenses.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Daxter was dreaming.

In his dream, Jak had changed into dark eco beast form and, snarling ferociously, cornered Samos up a tree. Daxter laughed as Samos clung in the branches like a log-toting koala. Finally, though, he figured he ought to call Jak off.

"_Hey Jak!"_ his dream-self whistled, picking up a large wrench from the garage that had suddenly appeared on the ground beside him. _"Jak, over here! Get the stick, big guy!"_

With a growl of pleasure, dark Jak took the bait and leapt after the thrown wrench. In seconds he was back, towering over Daxter with the tool clenched triumphantly in his fangs. Dropping the wrench so that it bounced painfully off Daxter's head, Jak happily jumped on his friend and began to lick his face enthusiastically.

"_Ah, no, come on!"_ Dax whined playfully as dark Jak continued to lick him, halfheartedly trying to shove the affectionate creature off his chest. It proved impossible, as Dax was much smaller than Jak even when human. _"Jak! That tickles! Stop it, yer slobberin' all over me, ya horny beast!"_

As dream-Dax was tweaking one of dark Jak's sharply pointed horns and laughing uproariously at his own joke, wrenches began to fall from the sky and smoke the redhead one by one right between the ears. He cringed, trying to sidestep the falling tools but unable to get away from Jak, who continued to hold him still and lick him unceasingly.

Wrench after wrench hit Daxter, each larger and more painful than the last, until…

O.O.O.O.O

"Oooowwww…!"

Dax moaned pitifully as he awoke, groggily waving a weak hand in the air in a befuddled attempt to make the wrenches stop hitting him. It took him a moment, disoriented as he was, to realize that nothing was falling: his head was just pounding away viciously all on its own.

Wincing at the early morning sunlight pouring through the small window right across his face, he covered his eyes with one hand and tried to make sense of why his head felt like Sig had danced a salsa number on it.

Alcohol must surely be involved in pain like this if no other cause was immediately forthcoming. So, how had he gotten drunk? Reason said that at some point the night before he and Jak must have been at the bar. Alright, then what had they been doing there? Besides getting drunk?

Slowly, still half asleep, Dax began to piece it all together. They'd been having a good old fashioned hangout at the Naughty Ottsel and for some odd reason he'd swigged enough liquor in his smaller furry form to knock a yakcow for a loop. He'd done it because… hmm… well, why had he done it? Something had upset him, and…

A surge of nausea accompanied the full return of the redhead's memory.

Tess. Jinx. Unmentionable, unthinkable, un-admittable below-the-belt activities.

Daxter groaned anew and with much more force, his head echoing every sound and slight movement with a ripple of pain. _This_ was why it was unwise to try to drink your problems away, he remembered belatedly. They were still there in the morning, and hangovers rarely helped in any situation.

Dimly, Dax wondered why he wasn't still ottsel. He almost never went anywhere looking like the human he was, and he couldn't remember sleeping that way since Sandover. But maybe that wasn't so weird, he thought absently, since he felt weird enough already this morning. First off, there was something warm and heavy on his chest…

Feeling around cautiously, his free hand encountered a soft fluff of hair and a long, slender ear. Jak, of course. No wonder he'd been dreaming about being roughed around by his friend's alter ego. Daxter grinned slightly despite his discomfort.

He'd done this so many times in the past, laid quietly as dawn blossomed into early morning, waiting for the boy still sleeping next to him to wake up so they could begin their day of fun, adventure, and, of course, trouble making. Also, of course, he could only lie patiently for so long before he absolutely _had_ to wake Jak up in some annoying manner, but still.

Absently Dax began to lightly scratch behind the ear his hand still rested on. In his sleep, Jak let out a contented sigh. It was nice, the redhead reflected, with the golden sunlight just beginning to crawl up the rough-hewn walls. Soon enough they'd have to get up and face whatever the day felt like throwing at them, so it was alright to just doze there for a minute or two or ten…

Still asleep, Jak turned his head slightly and licked a firm trail up Daxter's neck to his chin.

Dax's ears flew up in comprehension… twitched rapidly in contemplation… then slicked back in mild annoyance.

Firmly grabbing Jak by the shoulders Daxter pushed his friend off his chest and sat up, ignoring the immediate throbbing of his head in favor of wiping off the spit. There was a wet patch near his collarbone as well, indicating that his dear pal Jak had been happily drooling on him in his sleep.

"Eew, Jak. Very eew." Dax wiped his damp hand on the side of Jak's face, the dark Jak licking dream suddenly making a little too much sense. He didn't really want to know what _Jak_ had been dreaming about…

"Huh?" Jak blinked at the palm on his cheek, opening his eyes with a huge yawn. Confronted with the sight of the irked, rumpled, and obviously hung-over redhead, he grinned blearily. "Good morning, sunshine."

Dax's ears fell flat. "Sooo not funny, smart ass."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Jak's grin widened and he was hard pressed to hold back a chuckle, stretching hard to cover it with a slight first-stretch-of-the-day groan. "You look awful."

"And… that's funny to you, is it, pal?" Dax growled sarcastically, trying in vain to palm and finger-comb his hair into place.

"Not really. It's just… between you and me…" Jak leaned up the slightest bit, Dax leaning down without thinking to bring them within conspiratorial whispering distance. "If I were you, I'd grow some fur or put some pants on."

Daxter's eyes shot open wide, face scrunching comically as he looked quickly down at himself, naked under the sheets. Jak roared with laughter, rolling over and burying his face in his arms as his flustered friend began to beat him about the head with the pillow.

"That's fan-friggin'-tastic!" Dax griped, red in the face as he mercilessly swung the abused pillow. "Ya know, ya coulda told me that the first time instead of tryin' ta strike up a conversation!"

"Come on, Dax, knock it off," Jak laughed, waving a hand behind his head in an attempt to ward off the attack. He was having fun, but it was still a little too early to be roughhousing, in his humble opinion. Besides, the sooner he got Dax showered and some food into him the better they'd both feel. Dax hung over could out-whine a grumpy preschooler.

Unwilling to let it go at that, Dax wound up for a final hit. Feathers flew as the old pillow collided solidly with the back of a green-blonde head, the ratty fabric finally having taken all it could take. It came apart at the seams with a loud rip.

Jak let out an undignified "oof!" before cautiously raising his head. "Damn. You know that was our only pillow."

"Jaaak!" the redhead yelled, shaking the torn pillowcase in his general direction. "Lookit that, that was completely yer fault…! Oooh, my _head!_"

Abandoning the ruined pillow over the side of the bed, Daxter collapsed across Jak's back, hands buried in his own fiery hair and face pressed between his friend's shoulder blades. Jak obligingly lay still, giving him a moment to regroup.

The moment turned into several moments, however, which in turn stretched into a few minutes.

Dax could feel his chest and shoulders rising and falling slightly with Jak's deep, even breaths. Unconsciously he began to try to breathe in time with his friend. Jak breathes in, breathe in… soothing scent of rough soap, clean sweat, residual grease and smoke. Jak breathes out, breathe out… small wisps of green-tinged blonde draped over shoulders ruffle gently. For some reason, it was helping his headache.

"Dax…" The soft statement hung in the still air, almost regretful. "Come on. Can't go back to sleep."

Daxter sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Five more minutes."

"Um, no."

"Three then."

"Sorry."

"Move a muscle an' I'll tickle you so bad they'll hear ya screamin' in Spargus," Dax muttered lazily, fingers twitching minutely at Jak's side, just grazing the skin.

Jak gave one violent and immediate twitch before freezing, hands clenching in the sheets as he cursed under his breath. It wasn't often Dax got him into a position where he could mess with him like that, and Jak had no doubt he would do it. The redhead was not one to pass up an opportunity to see Jak rendered defenseless.

"That's right, babe." Dax grinned shamelessly, letting his eyes slide shut once more as he trailed one finger slowly up and down Jak's side. "Like I said, just five more minutes…"

Jak laid very still, muscles twitching slightly under the roving finger. After a few quiet seconds, Daxter thought he'd finally won. The hero was not going to protest. He was silently congratulating himself when Jak, unexpectedly and quick as lightning, flipped and rolled.

"Raaawr!"

Dax's squeal of surprise mingled with Jak's playful imitation of his darker self as the redhead found himself firmly pinned by the shoulders, Jak hovering over him with a smugly devious smile in place. His hands were moving, drifting slowly toward Dax's sides…

"No fair!" Dax shrieked, panicking as Jak began to tickle mercilessly. "Jak, stoppit! I wasn't really gonna tickle ya, I swear! Ya big lug, no respect fer people with _hangovers,_ here!"

Accordingly Jak fell back the slightest bit, moved by pity to give his significantly disadvantaged friend a fighting chance.

It really was a marvel how fast they could transition from companionable apathy to furious competition and back again twice in a row, Dax thought ironically as he lunged up in an attempt to somehow retaliate. He twisted and squirmed, trying to worm his way back on top of the pile of struggling limbs and twisted blankets.

He was laughing as he clutched at Jak's hair, Jak was laughing as he playfully butted the underside of Dax's chin with his forehead, everything was as it should be… when Jak froze.

"Jak?" Daxter glanced up questioningly when his friend didn't resume movement, breathing hard and hands still loosely gripping green-blonde strands. "Watsa matter?"

Jak bolted off of him, rolling off the bed to hit the ground hard on hands and knees. Very slowly, breathing hard himself, he peered back up over the edge to look warily at Dax. "Nothing. It's nothing. It's just… just time to get up now. We have to go."

Dax sighed deeply, knowing that reality had finally decided to come knocking and Jak had let it in. Ah, well. It had been fun while it lasted.

"Too responsible, Jakkie-boy, that's what you are." With a final yawn and stretch the redhead kicked off the last of the clinging blankets and slid out of bed, sauntering unconcernedly toward the door. One of the few perks of living for years in nothing but fur: it made one much more comfortable in nothing but skin. "First dibs on the shower."

Jak avoided comment, pointedly turning his back on Daxter and busying himself with digging up the day's set of reasonably fresh clothes. Incidentally, their laundry system (or lack thereof) was one reason Keira had never been invited past the doors of the house. The poor girl who painstakingly cleaned and de-greased each of her tools after using them would have a coronary.

Dax offered a final grin to the back of his friend's head, snatching up a towel that might or might not have been clean on the way out. For reasons unknown, his headache had all but disappeared. What an unexpectedly nice way to start the morning.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak scowled, flinging an unquestionably filthy sock backwards over one shoulder. What an unexpectedly bad way to start the morning.

Everything had been just dandy at first. He had been happily playing with Daxter, his favorite activity forever and always, without a care in the world. He'd risk Ashelin's ire at being late any day for that.

Dax was solid, warm and giggling beneath him, slender fingers played through his hair, and the world was perfect. Then, without warning, he was leaning forward to plant a loving kiss or affectionate nip (still dazed, he wasn't sure quite which he had intended) on the smooth arched column of his best friend's neck.

Barely catching himself in time he had jerked back in a panic, realizing almost too late what he was doing… and exactly what kind of affect the prolonged shifting, squirming contact was having on regions south.

"Go down… I'm ignoring you… go away," he hummed absently, feigning nonchalance as he scolded the errant parts in question. These silly… _urges_… would be getting no conscious encouragement from_ him_, that was for sure. If he had to he'd walk around with ice cubes in his pants.

Blessedly, when Daxter emerged from the shower he was shaking thick orange fur dry. Jak, by that time sufficiently unexcited, suppressed a sigh of relief and settled for scratching briefly behind damp ottsel ears before heading in to wash up himself. Perhaps the morning had hope of being redeemed after all.

"There ain't nothin' ta eat, Jak," Dax sighed as the racer finally wandered into the small kitchen sometime later. The ottsel was draped limply across an empty fruit bowl on the counter, a scrap of bread clenched halfheartedly in his teeth.

"There was a banana in there last night." Picking up the bowl, Jak carefully tipped Daxter out of it.

"I touched it and it collapsed. Musta been there a month." Dax sighed, took one last nibble of the bread and tossed it randomly at the garbage. "Hard as Torn's ass. What're we gonna do about breakfast?"

Jak looked bemusedly into an empty cupboard. With all the races they'd been winning and the occasional monetary boons from Ashelyn, why was it that they never seemed to have enough food, light bulbs, or laundry soap? The single light in the bedroom had been out for two weeks and he was slowly running out of socks that weren't hard to the touch.

"We'll have to get something in town."

For some reason, at the mention of town Daxter's ears drooped, then flattened. "Town, yeah… Hey, Jak, bring my clothes, will ya? I needta stop by the bar for a sec."

"I thought you might," Jak grinned. He quickly scooped up the clothes his friend had been wearing the night before, haphazardly folding them before stuffing them into his rucksack. It hadn't escaped his notice, though, how down in the dumps Dax suddenly sounded. "You can't go ottsel?"

On the counter Dax roughly shook the last of the water from his fur and leaped, landing perfectly on Jak's metal shoulder plate. "Nah. I get the feelin' I needta be me to do this, big guy. Ol' Orange Lightning'll haveta take a backseat on this one."

Jak did not ask what "this" was. He knew of course that something was very much out of place, but he didn't pry. Sure he was curious, but he also knew that Daxter would tell him soon enough. He would be clued in when his friend was ready for him to be, and that would suffice for now.

He did hope though, as they left the house and headed toward the Naughty Ottsel, that whatever it was would not get to his buddy too much.

O.O.O.O.O

"There you go. I'm gonna go find breakfast."

Daxter gratefully leapt from his friend's shoulder and landed lightly on the dusty ground near the rear door of the Naughty Ottsel, ever thankful that Jak could read him so well. The big guy always knew just when to make himself scarce for a little while without putting Daxter through the awkwardness of specifically asking for "alone time."

"Thanks, babe," he grinned, accepting the bundle of clothes Jak handed him from the bag. "Find me berries and you'll be my favorite."

Jak chuckled. "Like I'm not already." He reached out as if to ruffle his friend's fur, then appeared to think better of it and quickly drew his hand away. Giving Daxter a simple nod, he turned and strode off in the direction of the bustling morning market.

Rather puzzled, Dax watched him go, absently folding the large (in his current state) clothes over his arm. Jak seemed awfully… well, _off_ this morning. The ottsel _always_ got a pat goodbye from his buddy whenever it became necessary for them to split up for any amount of time. That Jak should forget so important a gesture was unheard of, but for the green-blonde to purposely withhold it was even stranger.

Giving his fur one last fluff, Dax shook it off. That puzzle would have to go on the back burner, as it were. Right now he had another problem to deal with that was slightly bigger than figuring out Jak's newest weird mood.

Grumbling to himself about bothersome blondes of both sexes, Daxter snuck into the saloon and began the search for a nook where he could quickly change from fur to clothes. After all, the very nature of the discussion that was to come required that he be significantly taller than the knees of the woman he was confronting.

O.O.O.O.O

Apples, oranges, Daxter's berries, more bananas…

Jak distractedly paid for the fruit and stuffed the parcels into his bag, not really minding if the breakfast items in question bruised. His mind was notably elsewhere.

Somewhere between the dried meat stall and the bakery carts he had almost remembered a dream he'd been having that morning. Now he hoped against hope that it was only his imagination, and he hadn't really been dreaming of necking with Daxter while the redhead was sleeping right next to him.

_It's a damn wonder I didn't __lick__ him or something_, Jak thought in exasperation as he wove through the crowds of shoppers. This insanity had to stop. It was getting out of hand.

He was still deep in thought when he spied the pillows. Tall piles of fluffy white pillows, beckoning him closer. Well, why not? He needed a new pillow anyway, now that he thought about it. Moving nearer to the storefront, he gave one an exploratory poke.

Quite soft. Possibly feather-stuffed. It would do.

Nodding, Jak grabbed the cushion and turned to pay for it. But then… Slowly, he gave the remaining pillows an appraising stare. Maybe he should get two of them, just in case Daxter decided to make a habit of sleeping human. He was reaching for another when reason prevailed.

No! No, he couldn't do anything that would encourage Dax to do that! His sanity might not survive night after night of his friend hanging all over him in a form that Jak couldn't easily keep confined to chest level and higher. If he bought another pillow now he might as well buy an extra bed, and that wasn't an option. After all, he still liked sleeping with Daxter. Daxter just needed to be furry when it occurred.

His mind made up, Jak turned away.

Only to turn back a second later and snatch a second pillow from the pile. What the hell. They could keep it for extenuating circumstances, right? Doing his best to adequately rationalize the extra purchase, the hero-turned-racer grabbed his bags and began to move briskly back the way he had come. They needed to be on their way to meet Ashelyn soon.

He just hoped he'd given Daxter all the time he needed back at the bar…

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter was pouting, slumped over the countertop from his stool at the bar. His headache was back full force.

Okay, so maybe he'd been a bit blunt with his questioning, but that didn't give Tessy-kins any good reason to whack him between the ears with a wooden spoon, did it? A rather large wooden spoon.

The redhead ruefully rubbed at the rapidly forming lump, watching Tess bluster behind the bar stacking up mugs and glasses. It appeared that he'd thrown off her morning groove.

"Seriously, Tessy-babe. That kinda hurt."

"That was kinda supposed to hurt!" the blonde huffed, cramming a dishtowel into a wet mug with a bit more force than necessary. "Honestly Daxxie, you should know better than that! Never, _ever_ ask a lady where her mouth has been."

Dax groaned and slumped forward even further, letting his forehead rest gently on the cool wood of the bar. Now he was hung over _and_ possibly concussed by the woman he had thought was more than passing fond of him. Who had just pretty much admitted to getting up close and personal with Little Jinxy. What could be worse?

There was a small thump near his head. Blearily Daxter looked up, and found his gaze blocked by a frosty mug of beer. His ears flicked in confusion.

"Drink it slowly and it might help your head." Unable to hold back a smile, Tess gently petted mussed red hair back into place. Boys could be so cute when they were jealous.

"Gee, thanks." Smiling back just slightly, Dax pulled the mug closer. "Chasers are always fun. So…"

"So?"

He traced the rim of the mug with one finger, avoiding eye contact. When he looked at Tess he thought of Jinx, and that made him want to scour his corneas with bleach. "Will ya at least tell me _why?_"

Tess blinked in surprise, flipping the towel back to hang down over her shoulder. "Why? You mean, why Jinx?"

Dax nodded, suppressing a shudder. "If ya don't care, please enlighten me. Why in the Precursors' names would ya wanna do _that_ with _him?_"

"Oh, that! Sure, I don't mind telling." Tess had suddenly, alarmingly, gone girlishly bubbly. "Jinx is just so… I don't know… rugged and manly!"

The redhead stared.

Tess giggled. "I guess you might say he's my bit of rough. And wow, was it!"

Daxter immediately felt ill. Did _not_ need to hear that… nope, didn't, not at all.

"Oh, come on, Daxxie. I'm still young and free. I like my fun as much as the next girl! But that doesn't mean I feel any less about you, okay? I'll always love you just the same. You understand that, right?"

A sort of calm had descended over Daxter. Taking a deep breath and letting it slowly out again, he looked up. Taking in her face, her eyes. Her expression. She stared back earnestly, and he did understand. He'd known it all along, maybe, and just not admitted it to himself.

Yes, she would always love him the same. The same as she did the other guys. Maybe a little bit more, as they were good friends in addition to flirting partners, but still. There was nothing overtly special there, at least on the romantic scale.

Dax forced a small smile, absently blowing at the suds on the edge of the mug.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, sweetheart. I understand." Boy, did he ever. And it sucked, big time.

Tess beamed, looking like she'd enjoy nothing more at the moment than squeezing the stuffing out of Orange Lightning. Luckily, she settled for an enthusiastic kiss to the top of Daxter's still-bruised head. "I knew you would, my little fluffy muffin! You're an ottsel among men."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Surreptitiously, Daxter tried to wipe off the kiss. It was sad, but his darling Tessy-poo had been contaminated. He would still adore her, but from a safe distance. Unfortunately, the threat of second-hand Jinx particles was not something to be taken lightly.

Humming slightly, Tess resumed drying the glasses. Her mood seemed much improved as she turned to ask a question of her own. "Hey, Daxxie? How did you know about me and Jinx, anyway?"

Dax shrugged casually, finally lifting the mug to his lips. "I cheated."

"Daxter!" The wet towel quickly found its way into the redhead's startled face.

"What?!"

"You mean you cheated at the secret game?" Tess demanded, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "You're awful!"

Dax couldn't help but grin, wiping stray flecks of foam off his cheek. "Hey, babe, let's not forget who we named this bar after, hmm?"

"The naughtiest ottsel ever," she had to agree, rolling blue eyes. Dropping the huffy pose, she dropped her elbows to the bar and leaned closer. "So how did you do it?" she asked eagerly.

Almost smugly, Daxter let her in on his improvised smoke signal trick. She was dully impressed.

"Wow, Daxxie, that's clever."

"Yeah." Dax modestly blew on his nails and buffed them against his shirt. "It just came ta me. I ain't sure what else ya could use that technique for, but it served the purpose."

"The purpose of getting dirt on your so-called friends?" Laughing, Tess aimed the towel at him again. The boy was incorrigible.

"Hey, I ain't sayin' anything about anybody else's freaky secrets. In fact I think a couple of 'em might have scarred me for life." _Ahem, Torn and Ashelin, ahem._ "The only one I really wanted was Jak's anyway. The Demolition Duo shares all, baby!"

"Uh-huh." Tess looked skeptical at the notion that Jak wouldn't mind his deepest thoughts divulged, even by his closest pal. However, she was willing to pass it off. Those boys were closer than tires to the racetrack, after all, so maybe Jak would be alright with it. She decided to change the subject. "Speaking of Jak and your Precursor-ness… how is '_it_' coming?"

Daxter leaned forward eagerly, dropping his voice to an excited whisper. "Actually, it's comin' pretty good. I tossed a ratchet through the other day an' it actually hit the water. So I'm thinkin' that with a few more tries…"

"Hello…?"

At the hesitant knock and ensuing creaking floorboards, Dax buttoned it. No way was_ that _particular surprise going to be found out prematurely. "At the bar, big guy. Come on in."

O.O.O.O.O

Jak came into the saloon slowly, making sure the coast was clear. Finding no evidence that anything was out of place, he relaxed and took the stool next to his friend, nodding to the lovely barkeep. "Morning, Tess."

"And a bright, sunny good morning to you too, gorgeous." She winked saucily, ever in high spirits. "How was the shopping this morning? Any good deals out there?"

Jak shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Oh, the usual. I got stuck in line behind a little old lady who haggled over the price of bread for ten minutes. Some kid ran into my leg, dropped his ice cream, and flipped me off. Same ol', same ol'."

"An' might ya have anythin' ta show fer this trip, namely somethin' fer Daxter?" The redhead leaned in expectantly, palm out and fingers curling in the classic 'gimme gimme' gesture. "Somethin' tells me ya do…"

Snorting in amusement, Jak dug into the sack. He pulled out the bag of berries, not noticing when several oranges rolled out and underneath the legs of the barstools. "You know, you could always go out and get your own food instead of constantly relying on me, you little vulture."

Daxter cackled, popping several of the berries into his mouth. "I'll tell ya somethin', Jakkie-boy. Eagles may soar, but ottsels don't get sucked inta jet propellers."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, mah buddy, that I'm quite, _quite_ happy ta continue vulturing. Wanna berry, Tessy-kins?"

Jak shook his head in fond resignation as Daxter and Tess enthusiastically dug into the berries. It was entirely his fault, really, that Daxter was so rotten. The colossal brat knew that Jak would always do whatever he wanted and provide him with whatever he needed. Yep, all his fault. Not that he was complaining.

Bending down to scoop an apple out of the bag and wondering absently at the absence of half the oranges, the green-blonde straightened up on his stool. They needed to be going soon. Ready to tell his friends as much, Jak turned back to Daxter and Tess… only to freeze solid, blue eyes widening to their limit.

Daxter had a berry halfway into his mouth, balancing the fruit against pulp-reddened lips with the tip of one finger. A slick of thick, white, creamy beer foam was dripping slowly down one lightly freckled cheek to join a tiny splash of bright juice at the corner of those laughing lips.

Jak's eye twitched violently. He tried to gulp and couldn't. Slack jawed, he stood still, hand clenched reflexively around the apple still poised on its way toward his open mouth.

After a moment Daxter saw him staring and grinned. Poking a giggling Tess on the tip of her nose and licking away the now pink-tinged foam from his mouth, the redhead gave Jak an obvious wink. "Sweet like candy, babe."

The apple suffered sudden, severe constriction as Jak's fist tightened convulsively, blunt nails digging deep crescents into its peel. Blood rushed to his face, his heart jumped, his stomach dropped, his lungs caved in and his throat closed all in the space of a second. It was too much.

The hero shot to his feet… or would have, had the shoulder strap of the rucksack lying limply at the base of the stool not tangled around his ankles. He careened into Daxter, leaving him smashed nose to nose with the startled redhead.

"Jak?"

Jak shoved himself away from the bar. Frantically kicking the straps off his feet he tried to run, but his first step landed directly on top of one of the free-rolling oranges. He hit the floor hard but didn't stop, scrambling for the door. Had to get out, had to get out right _now_…

"Jak, wait!"

Jak didn't. In a second he was on his feet again and nearly to the door. He would have made it this time, too, had his boots not been dripping orange juice.

With an almighty crash the racer slid into a table and fell over two rickety wooden chairs. Face and ears burning brighter than the desert sun, he finally gained the exit and disappeared outside with a slam of the door.

Tess and Daxter were left in stunned silence. Shaking his head slowly, the Precursor-in-training finally turned to his best gal pal and burst into laughter.

O.O.O.O.O

"Yeesh, what in the name a Mar's eatin' him?! I ain't _never_ seen Jakkie-boy that klutzy! Aw, man, that was _priceless!_"

Tess, however, had a very strange look on her face. She had been watching Jak just before his impromptu exit from her bar, and what she'd seen was… intriguing, to say the least. Woman's intuition nagging, she shook Daxter's shoulder firmly. "Daxxie, what was Jak's secret?"

Daxter abruptly ceased laughing his red head off and gave Tess a puzzled look. "Huh?"

"Tell me what Jak's secret was."

"What're you talkin' about? What secret?"

She threw up her hands in frustration. "What do you mean 'what secret?' The secrets you oh-so-shamelessly found out at the party last night! What did Jak's paper say?"

"Oh, that." Dax scratched the back of his head for a moment, trying to remember. Tess's revelation via the game had taken up most of his concentration since then, but he did still recall what his pal had divulged. He smirked smugly at the memory. "Jak actually had a great secret."

"And it was…?"

Pleased with himself, Dax polished off the last of the berries and carefully sucked each of his fingers clean. "That he loves me."

Tess's mouth dropped open. Wow. Just like that. "And you're alright with that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, cummon, I knew it all along. We grew up together. We're partners an' we'll always be there fer each other no matter what. How could he not love me?"

The blonde resisted the urge to slap her forehead at how oblivious her silly little sweetie could be. "But don't you think there's something a little… _different_ about what Jak wrote and what just happened here? Aren't you seeing some sort of correlation?"

Daxter considered it, thoughtfully tapping his chin with one finger. "Uh… nope. Really can't think of anything."

Tess wanted to scream. You could lead a leaper lizard to the oasis, but you had to rub its nose in the water to make it drink.

"Daxxie, wake up!" she cried, grabbing the clueless redhead by the shoulders and giving a firm shake. "Jak wasn't admitting that he loves you in the buddy-buddy sense, he's saying that he's _in_ love with you! In the mental, emotional, and most importantly _physical_ sense!"

Daxter stared blankly. "Wha…?"

"Didn't you see the way he was looking at you? It was so obvious! Trust me, I'm a woman. I _know_ these things. Jak is so in love with you." She pulled back a bit to gaze at him seriously before a happy smile burst onto her face and she pulled him into a crushing hug. "Ooooh, isn't that just the _sweetest_ thing?!"

Completely bewildered, Daxter shot a panicked look over Tess's shoulder at the door his best friend in the world had tripped out of mere minutes ago.

No.

Jak just had to go to the bathroom really bad, that was all. He was running out because he'd left the oven on at home. There was an emergency phone call he had to make. Of course Tess wasn't right, and he hadn't been on the verge of doing something really naughty to his little once-ottsel buddy…

…had he?

Daxter's ears slowly, very slowly drooped and fell limp. "Well, damn."

O.O.O.O.O

To Be Continued! (definitely!)

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: Okay, so this was not the obligatory "get rid of all romantic rivals in order to make your chosen pairing work" chapter. Or at least it wasn't supposed to be. I tried to make it pretty clear that Tess and Daxter will always care about each other, no matter what. And lord knows they'll still flirt like nothing else. They just aren't actively romancing.

And, while Dax was understandably upset, no one's world was crushed by a big emotional breakup. Tess is just a little bit of a swinger, not a total witch or anything. I luv Tessy, yes I do! Hope that cleared everything up.

And now we have Tess, the budding relationship counselor! How fun will that be? Anyway I can't let it go now… it's just too entertaining. So see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Aaaand, plugging right along… on to chapter three. I'm privately amazed at myself for updating this fast. I do love this one, though. Yay for lovely-dovey best friend relationships! Thanks much-es, reviewing peoples!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own it or make money from it. If I did I'd make someone somewhere mass produce ottsel plush toys. Everybody could use a little ottsel.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Safely hidden just inside the entrance of an alley near the Naughty Ottsel, Jak cursed himself as ten kinds of a fool. Pressed firmly against the brick wall and panting faintly, he gently tilted his head back to rest against the cool stone. What had he done?

"I… am such… an idiot."

Trying to get his breathing back under control and dissipate the raging blush that still lit his face, the racer fought the urge to knock his head even harder against the side of the building.

For the love of Mar, it had been beer suds. Nothing but beer suds, and he'd had a spazz attack like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He was well and truly ashamed of himself. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what the situation, no matter what kind of creamy, lathery, frothy white substance was indecently decorating Daxter's face; he should _not _have lost control like that!

Stupid Daxter, with his stupid beer and stupid tongue and stupid berries, making Jak look like a fool.

Shaking his head fiercely, Jak shoved himself away from the wall. Now was not a good time. He could tell by the sun that they were already late for the appointment with Ashelin, and the consequences of such a transgression would not be pleasant. With a reluctant sigh, he made his way slowly back to the steps of the bar to wait for Daxter. He would have to call the commander and at least tell her they were in fact en route. So much for enjoying the rest of the day.

It did not take long for Daxter to appear.

Jak was ready for the weird look on his friend's face when the ottsel inched out of the bar, the abandoned rucksack containing his discarded clothes in tow. Clearing his throat, the green-blonde tucked his communicator back into his pocket.

"Sorry I, uh, bugged out back there," he muttered, turning quickly away. If Daxter saw his face he'd know in an instant Jak was nervous and lying. "I called Ashe to tell her we're on our way."

Though it was obvious that Dax was in no way satisfied with that answer, surprisingly he let it slide. He dropped the bag at Jak's feet and used his friend as a ladder to reach his favorite shoulder perch. "Hey, no problemo. Certainly can't keep the lovely lady waitin'."

He wasn't comfortable up there, Jak could sense it. The little ottsel was holding himself stiffly, tense like he became when trying to forcibly joke their way out of a dark Jak episode.

Jak swallowed hard.

Well, it was probably better for Daxter to think his friend had nearly gone berserk and torn the bar to pieces in an unprovoked dark eco frenzy than to know that he'd only nearly escaped being soundly kissed by self-same friend. At least the first of the two unfortunate occurrences seemed to happen without Jak's conscious control…

"Hey." Jak paused, looking up at his currently furry friend.

Daxter immediately ceased his nervous chatter, glancing quickly down to meet Jak's eyes. "Eh?"

Jak looked up at him earnestly, concentrating on putting as much feeling into his gaze as he could. Mourning the loss of the closeness they'd had in Sandover that had rendered speech almost redundant, he tried to reassure Daxter without words that everything was fine. Even though it technically wasn't.

"It's alright, Dax. I'm okay. Really."

Daxter stared back for a long moment. At last he shook himself roughly, breaking eye contact. Grinning softly, he leaned down to brush his furry knuckles along Jak's jaw in a mock punch. "Yeah, big guy, I know. Me, too."

Jak's ears perked at that. He immediately relaxed, secure in the knowledge that Daxter was no longer afraid of him or wary of anything he might do. For now that was all he needed. Smiling, he reached up to run a hand down Dax's back in what was meant as a reassuring caress.

The ottsel shivered gently under his friend's touch, crouching low on the metal shoulder guard. Finally, an inner decision seemed to be reached.

Much to Jak's relief, Dax curled closer to hang around the racer's neck, half covered by a silky green-blonde curtain. There he remained, but Jak was left wondering why his friend was so strangely quiet on the long walk to the palace…

O.O.O.O.O

In reality it would have made more sense to utilize the zoomer Keira was constantly offering to let them use, especially considering that they were already late. However, today Daxter was thankful for the long while it took to get there on foot. He had taken full advantage of the time they'd used to reach the rendezvous point to come to two very important conclusions.

Conclusion number one dictated that he would never, _ever_, not in a million years, be afraid of or avoid Jak for any reason. If brutal fangs, razor sharp talons, and enraged, unreasoning black eyes hadn't been enough to frighten him from Jak's side, then it couldn't be done. Pain, fear, and hatred rolled up into a neat little package of dark eco couldn't break their bond. Why then should a little thing like love?

Conclusion number two said that, while they were on the subject of love, Tess might have been wrong. There were many, many possible explanations for Jak's behavior at the bar. Therefore, some testing was in order to determine whether or not the beautiful bartender's diagnosis was correct.

"Think I'll stretch my legs," Dax yawned when Jak's footsteps, made louder by heavy boots, echoed in the mostly empty halls of the palace. Stretching leisurely, he hopped down from his perch. "I'll come find ya when the meeting's over."

Jak stared incredulously at the ottsel unconcernedly working the kinks out of his back. "You'll stretch your legs now that I've walked us both the entire way here?"

Daxter grinned impudently. "Cool, clean rock beats hot, dusty street, baby. Plus you think I'm gonna sit an' listen ta our charming alpha female snarl at us fer bein' a teeny bit behind schedule? No thank ya."

"_Cowardus ottselae_, that's your scientific name," Jak muttered. Threatening under his breath to tell their resident be-goggled scientist the correct identification term for Daxter's species, he stalked off in search of Ashelin.

Covertly Daxter watched him go, hard-pressed to hold back a laugh. If the danger had been real he'd have never left Jak's shoulder, but Ashe's bark was worse than her bite, especially when it came to Jak and a certain knife-loving soldier. Right now he just really needed some time alone to think.

Picking a random corridor Dax wandered down it, rolling ideas over in his head.

If Jak was really in love, no matter with whom, why hadn't Daxter noticed? It wasn't as if an emotion like that was easy to miss. Had Jak just been doing a stellar job of hiding his feelings lately, or did that mean that Dax couldn't read the former hero as well as he thought he still could?

"Some best friend you are," he growled to himself as he walked, tugging the straps of his goggles in frustration. "Jakkie-boy might be in _love_ with ya an' yer the last one ta know about it! Where's yer observational skills?"

So absorbed was Daxter in his self-chastising that he failed to notice the muffled sounds stemming from what appeared to be an out of the way storage closet until he was level with the door.

When he did notice, however, the ottsel had to pause. He might be in the middle of a serious personal crisis, but that was no reason his curiosity should have to suffer as well. Tilting his head to one side to better present one furry ear, Dax slipped silently over to the door and listened closely.

Faint giggling came from behind the old, ornately carved wood.

Daxter grinned.

It must have been some of the ex KG's kids, bored with waiting for their parents and playing a game. Well, he got along pretty good with the kiddos when the younger ones weren't trying to pull his tail. Maybe playing with them for a while would help him relax. That thought in mind Dax stood on tiptoe to grab the knob, throwing the door wide open.

"Heya, kids! Watcha—_great sages shadow!!_"

"_Rat!_" Torn bellowed at the top of his lungs. One hand flew out to block the light from the hall falling in his startled eyes while the other reached for the fall of his uniform pants. Ashelin gave a high-pitched and very un-commanderly scream, scrambling to pull her shirt down and her shorts up.

That was all it took.

Daxter slammed the door shut as Torn lunged, barely pausing to register the crash made as the illustrious rebel leader tripped over his own pants and fell into the wood. Already laughing hysterically the ottsel rocketed off down the hall with speed only Orange Lightning could muster, one all-consuming priority echoing in his head.

Must. Tell. Jak!

"Jak, buddy, where are ya?!" he yelled at the top of his voice. "_Jaaaak!_"

Torn and Ashe were right behind him.

"Freeze, rat!"

"Little furry soldier, I command you to halt!"

"Jaaaak!"

"Daxter?!"

They met near the main entrance where four halls converged. Bewildered, Jak flew around a corner to the rescue of his friend with gun prepped, nearly falling over Daxter when the fleeing ottsel shot between his legs to safety. Torn and Ashelin, the former with knife drawn, barely avoided crashing into Jak themselves.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Jak panted angrily, eyeing the live steel as Daxter, laughing too hard to speak, scrambled up his leg. He didn't lower the gun, merely shifting it slightly in his grasp so he could hold onto Daxter.

Ashelin's face was several shades redder than usual as she spoke up before Dax could. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing is going on here… other than you being inexcusably late!"

Daxter was panting into Jak's hair, arms wrapped around his friend's neck and body firmly supported by Jak's protective embrace. Confident that Torn wouldn't take on the angry racer just for the chance to skin an ottsel alive, he leered playfully at Ashelin. "Oh, as if ya weren't fully enjoyin' yer free time, sugar!"

At that the commander's face rapidly turned the same fetching shade as her hair. She buried it quickly in her hands. "Quiet. Just be quiet."

"I swear," Torn growled menacingly at Daxter, brandishing the knife, "if you so much as squeak a word of this I'll personally make you an appointment with the vet you won't be coming back from!"

"That's enough, Torn." Jak looked ready to do a little growling of his own. "Leave Dax alone. Whatever it was he did to you, he won't do it again. _Right_, Daxter?"

"Unless yer in a public closet again," came the answer, accompanied by a pair of suggestively wiggling orange eyebrows. Oh, this was turning out far better than even a self-described harbinger of chaos could hope for.

Torn swore.

Ashe pointed firmly at the exit. "Both of you get out!"

"But you specifically arranged to meet—" Jak began, but was abruptly cut off.

"I don't care! Now isn't the time to… I mean I don't… I can't… Aaargh, just _leave!_"

"No!" Jak was now beyond confused. "I didn't come all the way here just to be turned back out! The least you can do it talk to me!"

The supremely flustered commander took a deep breath, managing to compose herself the least bit. "Jak Mar. I'm very, _especially_ sorry if I have inconvenienced you in any way by asking you to meet with me today and not following through with the appointment. But _please_. Just… come back… tomorrow. Alright?"

Daxter didn't know if it was the gritted teeth, clenched fists, or smoldering eyes of fiery doom that finally made Jak cave, but cave he did. With a disgusted sigh the racer gave up and shrugged it off, finally stowing away the gun. "Fine. Same time tomorrow, then. Let's go, Dax."

"He-heh, see ya laters!" Daxter waved merrily at the disgruntled couple over Jak's broad shoulder as the green-blonde turned to go, barely managing not to stick his tongue out at Torn. Of course he couldn't wait to spread the news to _all_ their friends…

"So, Dax…" Predictably, they hadn't even reached the palace gate before Jak's curiosity got the better of him. "What really happened in there?"

The ottsel was moved to laughter once again, earlier worries almost completely forgotten as he wrapped a teasing hand around Jak's long ear to bring it closer in preparation for the telling. No matter what happened in their immediate future, the simple little things, the things that really counted… those could never change.

"Well babe," he grinned, "let's just say I mighta glimpsed a little more'a Tattooed Wonder than I really wanted ta see…"

O.O.O.O.O

"Well, I'd definitely call today a giant waste of time."

Jak flopped face first onto the bed, slightly damp from his second shower of the day. Daxter immediately landed with a thump in the small of his friend's back, still soaking wet. Once in a great while the "ott" of his ottsel liked to make itself known, and he'd been rolling under Jak's feet with great zeal, utilizing the water in the bottom of the shower to the fullest.

"Come on, Jakkie-boy, that's no attitude ta take. No stinkin' sewers, no scorchin' wastelands, no metal heads, no one tryin' ta blow us away… Ya even managed ta get us new pillows. I actually kinda liked today."

Jak huffed as Dax braced on all fours and shook himself off, water spraying across most of their small sleeping area. He had to admit that the ottsel had a point.

After they had gone back to the bar to retrieve the forgotten pillows they had used the unexpected free time to do some proper shopping, and Jak had finally bullied himself into doing laundry with their new supply of soap. The lamp on the small table in the corner of the tiny bedroom blazed triumphantly in all its low-watt glory: he'd remembered at long last to get it a new bulb.

So maybe the day hadn't been a _total_ waste…

Fur now significantly drier, Daxter hopped from Jak's back and landed on one of the new pillows, testing its softness. The green-blonde watched him from the corner of his eye, praying that he would be a good boy and stay ottsel. The last thing Jak needed was for the day to come full circle and he find himself in bed with a naked Daxter again. If that happened he might just scream at the unfairness of life in general.

Daxter didn't change over, however. It seemed he was content, for whatever reason, to spend another night as Orange Lightning. He did abandon the pillow, though, in favor of curling up on Jak's lower back once more.

Jak smirked. "I oughta start charging you for leeching my body heat."

"Hey, hey, hey," the ottsel warned, showing no remorse whatsoever. "I'm up here keepin' yer ass nice an' toasty at the same time, so don't get lippy!"

Jak bit back a yelp as the band of his boxers was snapped hard. "Hey!"

"Teach ya ta deny the simple gift of warmth to a revered holy beast," Dax snipped.

Grumbling loudly Jak rolled over, catching a surprised Daxter before he could be squashed. He resettled, now on his back with Dax held to his chest. "Alright, you blew it. I don't trust you back there."

"That hurts, Jak. Ya should always trust yer best friend."

Rolling his eyes, the racer silenced his ottsel companion the quickest way he knew how, cupping a palm over Daxter's shoulder blades and petting downward to his hipbones in a long, firm stroke. Dax immediately went limp, draped across Jak's torso in what amounted to a puddle of blissful orange goo.

"Mmm… ah, _damn_ that's good!" In seconds he was all but purring, wriggling like a furry eel under the welcome attention. "Where'd ya get talented hands like that, babe?"

"Ask your Precursor buddies." Jak was proud of himself. He liked making Daxter feel good. He pressed harder into the caresses, knowing from experience that in just a few more strokes…

"_Meek_, _meek_, _meek!_" The odd little high-pitched sound seemed to escape Daxter without his control. He was now stretched out as far as he could, arms out straight in front of him with tiny fingers curling and uncurling spastically near Jak's collarbone. "_Meek! _Geeze, Jak, stop! Ya know how dumb I feel when I—_meek!_ _ah!_—make animal noises!"

Jak reluctantly stopped the treatment, contritely petting the exceptionally soft patch of fur right between Dax's shoulders with the tip of one finger. He closed his eyes and smiled, wriggling further into the soft bed as he felt Daxter relax and let out a relieved sigh that whispered warmly against his skin.

Okay, he took it all back. It had been a good day after all.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter sighed contentedly, fuzzy chin on Jak's bare chest. Ottsel massage made Orange Lightning a happy little critter and earned ol' Jakkie-boy mucho brownie points. Jak's cupped palm was just the right size to fit his back, and blunt, oil stained fingernails knew just where to scratch. Life was good.

He squirmed, the wonderful hand not abandoning its cause.

Fingers callused from years of gun triggers and steering wheels played lightly up and down his spine, coaxing little shivers of pleasure. It seemed almost funny that such a powerful hand, a hand that could just as easily snap his spine as stroke it, could be that intently focused on so gentle and loving a task.

Loving. Huh.

Dax drowsily opened his eyes, wondering for just a moment when they had fallen shut. He gazed, sleepy but thoughtful, at Jak.

The green-blonde's own eyes had drifted closed, a peaceful expression on his relaxed face. One arm was tucked behind his head, the other curled slightly over Daxter as the roving hand continued to pet his fur. As he had that morning, Dax could feel himself rising and falling with Jak's deep, steady breaths. He liked it when his friend was able to unwind like this. No pressing worries, no immediate cares…

He looked… cute like that.

His best friend that might love him.

For a moment Daxter seriously considered just confronting Jak right then, asking point blank and demanding a straight answer. The love, was it real or imagined? And if it was real was it innocent and friendship-only, or was it romantic?

But, no. Directly approaching the issue would be far too simple and outright, and something no self-respecting male of any species would do. Actually _discussing _their feelings? Eww, not if he could help it.

Sighing again, Dax tilted his head so that one ear rested just above Jak's heart. The steady beat soothed him somewhat as their combined warmth urged the remaining chill moisture from his fur. The ottsel tried to think back, straining his memory.

Had Jak ever exhibited any concrete evidence of this supposed affection?

For some reason his mind kept going back to Sandover.

When they'd been young, Daxter had hated how he looked. Weird wild hair, too big teeth, too big ears, stupid freckles, scrawny and… short. Damn how he hated the shortness. Next to Jak (tall, strong, blonde, perfect-smiled Jak) it was impossible not to feel like an ugly duckling.

_No swan yet,_ he chuckled dryly to himself, idly examining the tip of his tail as it drifted past his nose.

It would have been painfully easy for Jak to just ignore the silly-looking, troublemaking kid Uncle Samos called a heathen and go off with Keira, the only other child in the village and whose intentions toward Jak back then had been rather obvious. But he hadn't. And now Dax wondered…

Had those hugs and warm smiles Jak always offered when the issue arose meant less "I don't care that you look weird" and more "I like the way you look"? His constant presence around Daxter rather than Keira, had that really been not so much "you're my sidekick and you make me look cool" as "you're my best friend and I'd just rather be with you"?

And after that… damn, he'd sure made Jak put up with a lot since then. The whining. The complaining. The smart comments. Treating him like a personal bodyguard. Making him do all the shopping. There had even been a recent period where Jak had gotten hardly any sleep for almost a month on his account.

Immediately after Daxter had discovered how to make himself human again, he'd begun waking up with severe pain in his legs nearly every night. When pressed, Vin had given him a cursory exam and offered a simple diagnosis: Dax's ottselization had disrupted his natural growth patterns. While it was true he'd gained a bit of height as an ottsel, now that he was back to normal at least part of the time his body was trying to adjust faster than it could handle. In short, he had growing pains.

He'd had but one thought on the matter. Had a freak dark eco accident not destroyed his one shot at going through puberty normally, he might have ended up taller than Jak. And that thought was pure torture, especially when caught in the throes of intense muscle aches.

Regardless of the cause or what he thought about it, the problem left Daxter quite unable to sleep, and his stifled whines and whimpers of pain had, in turn, kept Jak awake as well. However, rather than being angry or trying to ignore the noise Jak had stayed up most of the night with his friend, helping him relax and tough out the discomfort. During the day he'd even tried to make up for the lack of sleep by allowing ottsel Dax to catch short naps when possible using his headscarf as a makeshift hammock.

_Yeah, he loves me,_ Daxter thought in tired amusement, _or he'd a' told me ta suck it up an' thrown my cryin' ass out on the couch instead'a offerin' ta rub my legs fer me. Jak, yer some kinda guy._

The warm, heavy hand was still there, but had slowed drastically. Though it was barely fully night outside, Jak had drifted off.

"Looks like bedtime's early tonight," Dax muttered. Jak showed no sign that he had heard. Daxter perked up. "Hey, Jak? Don't ya wanna turn off the light at least? Helloooo?"

No response from the sleeping racer.

A wicked grin crept onto Dax's furry face. He just loved messing with Jak. Very slowly the ottsel walked two fingers up his friend's chest, across his collarbone, and poked him in the nose. Jak's face twitched.

Smothering a laugh, Dax tucked two fingers into the corners of the green-blonde's mouth and lifted upward, forcing a large smile onto his face. Jak shook his head and snorted in annoyance, but didn't wake up. Dax was now stifling his laughter in the crook of one arm, his tail beginning to swish about in his mirth. It was immature, maybe, but oh! so much fun.

A feather light tickle across his cheeks made Jak's hand shoot up, fitfully trying to smack away whatever was bothering him. With a muttered growl of displeasure he turned his face firmly into the pillow.

Still giggling, Daxter apologetically petted his friend's goatee, fingers threading softly through the green hair. He still thought it looked kind of silly, but whatever. It was Jak's face and he could let little random patches of bristles grow on it if he wanted. And no matter what anyone said, Daxter was absolutely _not_ jealous of Jak's ability to grow facial hair. After all, Orange Lightning was _covered_ in hair, thank you very much.

Making a pleased sound, Jak shifted slightly and turned his face back into the petting. A small smile formed. Both hands moved to clasp over Daxter's back, holding the ottsel to his chest like a stuffed animal.

"Hope ya realize how much I spoil ya," Dax muttered affectionately, petting hand and swiping tail now moving slowly in synch. Not that it mattered much. He liked humoring Jak and probably always would. "It ain't just anybody who gets ta wool a Precursor around, ya know."

Yeah, he'd let Jakkie-boy get away with almost anything. And, with that in mind… mightn't he have been giving Jak's unwitting confession a little too much thought? When it came right down to it, the thought of the person closest to him being in love with someone else naturally made Daxter jealous. So just maybe the whole business was really no big deal. But then again…

It was too much to think about. Puzzling things like that for too long could break your brain. It seemed that in this case, gut instinct would have to be trusted over rational thought.

Which was too bad, because all his gut was telling him at the moment was that he was hungry. Ottsels had high metabolism and the light dinner they'd had earlier was wearing off.

But a decision had to be made. Soon. Now.

_Screw this_, Daxter thought, suddenly tired of worrying. _Screw it in the ear. Like there's any two ways about what's gonna happen here. I let Jak go fer __nothin_

Clearing his throat quietly, he glanced up at Jak's sleeping face in the dim light.

"Alright big guy, listen up," he whispered softly. "This is pretty important, so pay attention while ya snooze." A deep breath. "I don't mind that ya love me like that. In fact I'm kinda flattered. That means I'm gonna let this be an' see what happens. Ya never know, I might surprise me. And just fer yer info, yer the only guy I'd ever,_ ever_ even _consider_ datin' so I hope that makes ya feel pretty damn special, pal!"

Forgetting himself in the heat of his little speech, Daxter jabbed a finger into Jak's chest to illustrate his point. He froze as the racer jerked awake, unfocused blue gaze landing on the ottsel still stretched out on his middle.

"What'd you say Dax?"

Daxter's courage immediately deserted him. He crouched low on Jak's chest and stomach, hackles raised and ears flying back in sudden alarm. "Nothin'! Goodnight!"

"Oh." Jak blinked, then yawned hugely. "G'night. Get the light, would you?"

Dax jumped to it without protest, a bit shaken. He hadn't _really_ meant for Jak to hear what he'd said, he just wanted to get the decision off his chest. Hopping onto the table to turn off the lamp, he crept slowly back to bed. By the time he cautiously slid back into his previous spot, Jak was again asleep.

Whew. That was a little too close for comfort. When he wanted Jak to know that his romantic advances might possibly be returned, he'd darn well say it when his friend was awake and aware. Maybe.

Shrugging it off, Daxter rolled off Jak's chest to land on his back in the crook of the racer's arm. Tomorrow was another day. He would worry about the fine details later. Until then he could sleep soundly with Jak's fingers drifting through the ruff of fur on his chest and his tail beginning to twitch in contentment once again.

Swish, swish, swish…

He let the rhythmic motion of his tail relax him, counting the swipes it made across the hills and valleys of the sheets. It had become his trick for falling asleep quickly, self-taught during the two years he was cold, alone, and Jak bereft every night. One, two… back and forth…left, bump, right, bump…

Wait a minute. "Bump?"

Daxter sat up in annoyance, wondering what the hell his tail might possibly be hitting. The only things in the bed were the pillows, himself, and Jak… Glaring through the darkness for several seconds, his eyes slowly widened as realization dawned.

He hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to where his tail was going. The randomly roving appendage was gliding firmly and repetitively over the area between Jak's lower belly and upper thigh, and the unintentional caress was having a bit of a... _pronounced_ reaction on his bedmate.

Oh.

Oh, damn.

With a muffled squeak of abject panic Daxter scrambled upright and shamelessly fled to the top of the bed, burrowing between Jak's shoulder and the new pillows. He popped up by the headboard and crouched there wide-eyed and shivering, looking for all the world like a quivering orange weasel ball left on high.

Wow. Did _not_ mean to do that, really did not…

Dax gulped, daring a peek over the pillows and back down the bed. "Well, guess I'll hav'ta get used ta _that_…"

Maybe this would be harder than he thought.

O.O.O.O.O

To Be Continued! (again…)

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: So… um… yeah. I guess this means I'm in for the long haul, here… Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than last time, but it seemed like a good place to stop. Next one will probably be longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** And we're sprinting, yes sprinting through another chapter! Boy, I really had no idea I'd get to like this story so much... Thanks again to the loyal reviewers! I love reading all your comments! You guys are great, really.

**Disclaimer:** Lemme check… no, no, still not owning or profiting off anything. If I was you'd know it, as the next Jak game would be a spin-off of one of those Japanese dating sims. Then everybody could try their hand at making Jak fall in love with them! Would that be fun or what? Somebody should bring that up to Naughty Dog…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jak's morning began abruptly with a high velocity ottsel to the face.

"Up an' at 'em, Jakkie-boy!" Daxter crowed, bouncing on his friend's chest and tugging at his ears. "The sun is shinin', the birds are singin' an' it's a beautiful day full'a fresh new opportunities!"

It was barely dawn. The racer blinked hazily up at his furry companion, fighting down a yawn so large it threatened to split his face in half. "You've been drinking coffee again, haven't you."

"Don't worry, big guy, I'm way ahead of ya! I saved ya a mug an' it's got milk in it just like ya like it." The ottsel had the audacity to pinch Jak's cheeks before bounding off in the direction of the kitchen. "Course the milk's a little sour, but it should be okay. Can ya believe we forgot ta get more milk?"

Jak watched him go, then rolled over and pulled the blankets over his rumpled head. This made two mornings in a row that Dax had managed to be awake before him… possibly a new record. He wondered blearily which was worse; the sleepy, grouchy Dax who had to be forcibly extracted from his blanket nest or the perky, hyper-caffeinated Dax who consumed an entire pot of coffee minus one cup and was ready to take on the universe with a flyswatter.

"I take it you didn't sleep well?" he called from under the covers.

"Not a wink." Daxter's reply was sinfully cheery as he scampered back into the bedroom, Jak's coffee in hand. "Here ya go, buddy, bedside delivery! Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks. I didn't snore last night, did I?"

"Hmm, not exactly…"

Jak finally sat up to take the mug. He watched his friend pace the length of the bed and back again, unable to keep still. Yep, the ottsel was _wired. _"Shouldn't you have at least gone back to normal to drink all that? I thought we talked about how a whole pot is way too much stimulation for that tiny body to handle."

Daxter airily waved it off. "Eh, it's fine. These're special circumstances. B'sides, me normal might be too much stimulation fer _yer_ body ta handle."

Coffee sprayed everywhere as Jak choked and coughed, staring at him in absolute horror. "_What?!_"

The ottsel merely laughed, aiming a grin and a pointer finger at him. "Gotcha!"

Jak attempted a weak laugh in return, brushing at what was rapidly becoming a coffee stain on the sheets. He didn't like that joke, not at_ all_. It hit too disturbingly close to home. "Uh, ha-ha! Yeah, you got me. Good one, Dax. You're such a kidder..."

_Please Precursors, let him be kidding… _

Daxter rolled off the bed, squirmed under it, shot out the other side and shimmied up the dresser. In seconds he had wrestled the top drawer open and was throwing random articles of clothing at his friend. "Better get a move on, pal, we've got lots ta do today."

"Such as?" Jak ducked as a wrinkled shirt went flying by. Dax was acting very strange this morning, and somehow he couldn't contribute it entirely to the influx of caffeine. He didn't know quite why, but he had a bad feeling about this…

"You gotta report back ta command central before Ashe kicks yer ass inside out. An' more importantly, I gotta go talk ta Tessy-kins."

Jak was about to comment on Daxter's priorities when a small triangle of delicate, lacy fabric landed on the tip of his ear and hung. Slowly he pulled it off, staring down at it incredulously. "Are these panties?"

The ottsel froze, ears and tail flicking upright. "Uh..."

"Daxter, is this or is this not women's underwear?!" Prompted by some unknown force, Jak gingerly glanced at the little tag. A tiny "K" had been carefully stitched into the label. "Oh sweet Creators, it's Keira's! She's gonna kill me! Dax, what the hell were you thinking?!"

It wasn't clear whether Daxter fell off the dresser on purpose or as a side effect of his hilarity. Jak leapt from the bed and chased him from the room before dashing over to rifle through the open drawer.

"Dammit, Daxter!"

O.O.O.O.O

"Look at it this way, Jak. Ya can let me keep my hard-earned booty or ya can take 'em back yerself an' explain ta the girls why ya have their lingerie."

Dax was enjoying himself immensely, stationed as usual on Jak's shoulder as they walked through town toward the Naughty Ottsel. This time, however, the most adorably incriminating blush faintly stained the racer's cheeks, and Dax was at the perfect level to see and comment on it.

"Alright, Dax, Tess's underwear I can accept. That's fine. That's perfectly normal." Jak held up a hand and began ticking off fingers. "But to have a pair of Tess's, Keira's, Ashelin's, Rayn's, _and_ a pair from almost every female racer we've faced in the past two months is absolutely not—"

Daxter sighed. "Would it make ya feel better if I threw a pair of yer tightie-whities in there too?"

Jak sputtered indignantly. "No it wouldn't!"

Chuckling lightly, the ottsel patted his friend's hot cheek. If Jakkie-boy was flustered now, Dax couldn't wait to see his reaction to the fun that was in store. For, whether he knew it or not, the oblivious green-blonde had opened a floodgate, and the wave was bearing down fast.

_It's all or nothin', big guy,_ he thought, unconsciously aiming a nip at Jak's slightly pink ear tip as it darted past his face. _Hope yer ready ta swim._

"You've got fifteen minutes," Jak growled, depositing his passenger on a bench at the back of the bar. "I'm gonna go over to Keira's place and see if she'll let us have that zoomer."

Daxter grinned. "What, don't tell me ya don't wanna walk all that way again just ta possibly get thrown out two days runnin'?"

"Us getting thrown out yesterday was your fault if I remember correctly." Jak raised a brow at the slightly disturbing memory. "But if Ashelin doesn't get this over with today it's not gonna happen. Want your clothes?"

"Nah, babe, Orange Lightning's got this one covered."

Jak nodded, ruffled his friend's fur, and was gone.

Dax watched him walk away. He debated for a moment about telling the racer there was a pair of polka dot panties hanging out of his sleeve, then went inside. Jak was a smart guy. Surely he'd figure it out before he reached the garage.

"Oh, Tessy-kins!"

"Daxxie!" Tess squealed as the ottsel leapt into her arms. Squeezing him tightly she planted a big kiss right behind his goggles. "What brings you in this morning? I thought for sure you boys would stay the night at the palace."

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Pfft, so Torn an' Ashelin were gettin' freaky in a closet an' I just so happened ta catch 'em in the act, big whoop. No reason fer Ashe ta get her bra in a knot an' toss us out."

The blonde's own eyes widened considerably. "Oooh… I always knew those two would get together! Do tell!"

"Sorry, baby, not today. I don't got a lotta time an' there's somethin' else I wanna talk about."

The old saloon was quiet save for the echoes of voices and passing vehicles outside. Tess made it a point to never open before noon, so for a while they had the place to themselves. Daxter hopped down onto a stool as the blonde drifted back behind the counter.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Coffee'd be good. I drank what we had at our place."

Tess took one look at her little sweetie's enlarged pupils and frizzed fur and placed a small cup before him. "Here's some nice fresh juice. So tell me, what did you want to talk about? It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain ruggedly handsome racer, would it?"

"Yeah, that's it exactly!" Daxter slurped the juice, strictly on the grounds that it contained natural sugars. "Tessy, how do I make myself think Jak's handsome?"

"Uh…" For once in her career as a professional barkeep and amateur relationship counselor, Tess didn't know what to say. "W-why would you want to do that?"

Knowing that she was possibly the only person he could be completely open with on the subject, Daxter began to talk. "See baby, it's like this. I think yer right an' Jak's in love with me. I'm cool with that. An' last night I decided I'm gonna see what we can do with it. I mean, sure I love Jakkie-boy as my best buddy already but any relationship we try ain't goin' _nowhere_ unless I can make myself think he's hot. Ya see?"

Tess blinked, elbow propped on the bar and chin on her palm. "Let me get this straight. In less than twenty four hours you've agreed to and coped with the fact that your best friend, who is also a man, loves you romantically and wants to jump your bones."

"He digs the Orange Lightning in the hot an' sweaty way, ya catch me?" Dax agreed.

"And now you want to pursue a relationship with this friend, but you need to determine if there's anything in it for you by seeing whether or not the guy can turn you on, am I right?"

"I always said ya were perceptive." Doubting that she would be giving him any more juice, Daxter pushed his glass to the side. "I haven't said anything ta the big guy yet. So Tessy, now that ya know what's what, any suggestions? Amazingly adept thing that I am, I'm sorta in the dark on this one."

"Hmm…" The blonde tapped her chin thoughtfully. She wanted to help her little sweetie ever so much, but she'd never been confronted with a problem quite as unique as this one before. "Maybe… if you picture him in a dress…"

They stared at one another.

"Bwa-hahahahaha!!" Dax howled with laughter, nearly slipping off his stool. "Oh Precursors, that's great!"

Tess was giggling helplessly, red face buried in her hands. "That's so bad! With the sideburns and the—hehe!—the little goatee—!"

"No, no, wait!" Daxter pounded weakly on the counter with a limp hand, tears of mirth tracking furrows through the fur on his cheeks. "_Skanky nurse's outfit!_"

Tess shrieked, slumping over the bar to laugh hysterically into her folded arms. Daxter fought his unstable way up onto the counter next to her, collapsing across her shaking shoulders.

"Yeah, with a short skirt an' heels an' —hahahah!—lacy garters an' a cute li'l nurse's cap—!"

Luckily, the front door crashed open before either of the merrymakers could suffocate themselves with laughter. Jak stomped in, an absolutely furious look on his blood-red face. "_Daxter!_"

"Eek!" Tess cowered as Jak grabbed up the still laughing ottsel by the scruff of the neck and shook him in midair.

"Why didn't you tell me, huh? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Tell ya—haha-ouch!—tell ya what, big guy?"

"That I had a damn pair of pink underwear hanging out of my jacket!" The racer's face looked hot enough to fry an egg on. "I got to the garage and Keira kept looking at me funny. You know what she said when she finally handed me the keys?"

"I suppose 'no' isn't the answer yer goin' for?"

"She said, 'That's a cute way to try and get my attention, Jak, but I really don't have time for a boyfriend right now.' I've never been so embarrassed in my life, you furry little ass!"

"So…" Daxter looked up at his friend as seriously as he could from his hanging position. "I'm guessin' it's safe ta say she took the goods back."

"I should squeeze you," Jak snarled menacingly, "like a fuzzy orange fruit."

Dax winced. He really should think before dropping stupid remarks. Oh well, there was only one way out of the deep shit he was in now: act cute. He gave Jak his most winning smile. "Nah, babe, ya don't squeeze us ottsels, ya cuddle us nice an' gentle like! Cummon, ya know that… after all, it's what ya do every night."

There was no readable change of expression from the racer as Daxter playfully tickled at the underside of the arm that held him captive. However, he did concede to lower the miscreant slowly back to the bar. "We're going. You have two minutes to wrap things up."

"Whatever ya say, big guy." Daxter offered a mock salute as his friend stalked out, letting the door slam behind him. As per the norm, it had all worked out in the end. Jak didn't smash him for his little oversight, and he didn't rag Jak for losing one of the centerpieces of his panty collection. It was all good.

Tess managed a wobbly smile, slowly straightening up from her hiding place behind the bar. "Boy, he's a little scary when he's mad!"

Dax smoothed down his ruffled back fur as best he could. Rotating his shoulders to ease the sting from being picked up so irreverently, he pushed back images of shocking white hair, dead black eyes, horns, claws and fangs. "Ya have no idea."

"So what are you going to do, Daxxie?" she pressed, collecting the dirty glass from where it had rolled. "You're not going to try anything while he's so mad at you, are you?"

"Sure, baby. What better cover could I ask for? I can pretend I'm just bein' chummy, like I'm tryin' ta butter him up an' make him forgive me. Then when I've thrown him off guard…" Dax smirked, rubbing his hands together deviously. "Initiate phase one of mission 'Jak as a Lurv Object!' B'sides, he'll probably forget all about this by then."

Outside, a zoomer gave a warning rev.

"Whoops, looks like time's up. See ya later, Tessy-kins!"

Tess waved as he ran for the exit. "Good luck sweetie! Let me know how it turns out!"

O.O.O.O.O

Jak was pouting and he knew it. If there was one thing he absolutely hated, it was being made a fool of. He hated it when Torn put him down for his age, he hated it when Sig treated him like an inexperienced rookie, and he hated it when girls got the wrong idea about him.

_Since I'm not even interested in them anyway,_ he thought mutinously. _Oh no, I can't just be simple and normal and actually __try__ to flirt with the girls. I've gotta go for the furry nitwit who keeps getting me into these situations in the first place. That's smart, Jak, really smart._

In all actuality, it would probably take very little encouragement to get Keira to date him. Hell, Ashelin might even be persuaded if a certain covert kiss was anything to go by. So why go for the one he'd never be able to have?

_Because I love him, _he acknowledged, moodily drumming gloved fingers on his knee._ And if that doesn't make me a real fool, nothing does._

He was still pouting when the bundle of energy in question flew down the steps and landed on the back of the borrowed zoomer. "Orange Lightning reportin' an' ready fer action! Let's hit the road, Jak!"

The racer snorted and cranked the sleek machine, resisting the impulse to smack Daxter off into the dirt. Alright, the whole underwear ordeal had been an honest accident. His embarrassment was in the past. Time to move on and get back to business… and pointedly ignore the way Daxter was squirming around positioning himself on the leather seat between his legs.

"Hey, you're gonna fall off if you stay there."

"Not if ya don't take the curves like there's a killer metal head behind us." Either completely missing or completely ignoring Jak's halfhearted effort to get him to move, Daxter nestled in with his back to the racer's stomach. "B'sides, it's better than bein' flapped around like a flag on yer shoulder."

"Alright, but don't count on me to grab you if we wreck or flip or something," Jak muttered. Fighting the urge to keep a protective hand around Daxter despite his indifferent words, he turned them toward the palace. Chalk up another day that was starting out crap. He could only pray that this much-lauded meeting went smoothly and they weren't going to ask him to do something stupid.

O.O.O.O.O

"It's the stupidest damn thing I've ever heard!"

Daxter jumped a mile, landing on all fours with hackles raised and teeth bared as Jak slammed the door of the guest suite he'd been napping in. "Dammit Jak, ya tryin' ta give me a heart attack?!"

An inarticulate grunt was all the answer he got.

Daxter sighed, ears slanting back in annoyance.

This was just perfect. He'd waited all day and most of the evening for the racer to return and when he did he was in an even worse mood than before. The ottsel watched as Jak began to pace the large, ornately decorated room, warily settling back down on the pillow he'd claimed as his own. Obviously the little powwow hadn't gone well.

Finally, after throwing off his gloves and jacket and viciously kicking a random footstool, Jak heaved a deep sigh and dropped down on the big bed next to Daxter. A rough hand plowed through disheveled green-blonde. "Sorry."

"Uh-huh." Leaving the pillow, this time at a more leisurely pace, Dax flopped down across his best friend's knee. "So are ya gonna tell me what's stupid, or do I hav'ta guess?"

Jak groaned, falling backwards across the mattress with hands over his head. Dax took the move as an open invitation and immediately made himself at home on the racer's chest. It was sure to be an interesting story if it had Jak pissed off that bad, and he wanted the best seat in the house for it.

"Okay, shoot."

Staring morosely at the high ceiling, Jak cut right to the chase. "They… _proposed_… that I pretend to turn traitor on you guys and try to join Mizo's team."

There was silence.

"Huh?"

"That's what I said. Apparently they think that I'll be able to gather information on the opposition's tactics and strategies that I can secretly report back for our benefit. Then I slip out on them and rejoin our team. You know… like a spy or something."

Daxter considered, chin braced on furry knuckles. "May I be frank, Jak?"

"Sure."

"That' the stupidest damn thing I ever heard!" The ottsel was suitably disgusted. "What's wrong with what we've been doin', I ask ya? Ya know… racin' 'em, beatin' 'em an' rubbin' it in their faces?"

The racer sighed, reaching out to pet frizzed orange fur. "You got me. I thought we were doing pretty good."

"We've been doin' _damn_ good! We ain't lost a race yet! Whose lame-ass idea was this, anyways?"

Jak had to smile. "I didn't ask until after it pissed me off. Then they wouldn't tell me."

"Yeah, that means Tattooed Wonder cooked it up." Daxter huffed, finally allowing the petting to calm him somewhat. "Ah, well. It ain't nothin' ta get mad about. Even if it is totally _pointless_, this'll be a walk in the park. And hey, if ya need help convincin' the other side that we really bailed out I'll just tell 'em exactly what I think of Torn! We've been on missions a million times worse than that, right buddy?"

Jak coughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. "Um. About the 'we…'"

"Jak?" At once sensing that something unpleasant was afoot, the ottsel immediately went on full alert. "What about the 'we'?"

"They don't want you to go with me, Dax."

"_What?!_"

"Ashelin thinks it'll be easier for Mizo to believe I've deserted you guys if I leave you behind," the racer spit out all in a rush. "Everyone knows we're inseparable. What better way to prove that I've severed all ties with my former team than to abandon my 'pet' with them? If you went along with me they'd only be suspicious that you were carrying messages back and forth, and they'd probably be right. It'd be too dangerous for you, Dax."

Daxter was understandably livid. These were their supposed "friends" who had voted for letting Jak wander off into the middle of the enemy base, alone, for what sounded like an extended period of time. Yeesh, the things these people came up with when he wasn't there to keep them in line! That was the last time he'd skip out on one of their meetings, no matter how boring he found most of them.

"Dangerous my furry orange ass! If ya went in there by yerself Razer'd rape ya! Ya told our fearless leaders they're cracked, right, an' they can forget it? That's what ya told 'em, right Jak?"

"They told me to calm down and sleep on it." Jak's mood was not improving. "I mostly just wanted to see what you thought before I told them to… you know…"

"Screw off?" Dax supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, that's it."

Daxter slowly relaxed again.

Well, of course he had nothing to worry about. Jak wouldn't leave him. Not for a week, not for an hour if it wasn't a deadly necessity. He'd go back into that conference room tomorrow at Jak's side and tell the whole team as much himself. If there was one thing the Demolition Duo had, it was solidarity.

Well, solidarity until the explosions started. Then half the duo enhanced that closeness even more by going down the other half's shirt for the duration of the fight. Just to, you know, provide as much support as possible.

The ottsel smiled and shook himself off, trying to banish the bad vibes along with a slight case of static cling brought on by quick, rough stroking of the fur. "Well then, that's settled. Their plan's a definite no-go. We don't need any inside info on those losers, we just need ta keep handin' 'em their own asses on the track!"

"Yeah…"

Dax could literally feel Jak unwinding. Hmm, maybe the thought of being separated from his loudmouthed shoulder ornament had shaken the green-blonde up more than he let on. Soothingly the ottsel patted his friend's chest. "That's right, big guy, ease up. It was just a stupid idea; they can't make ya do anythin' ya don't wanna do."

Jak groaned, rubbing at his tired eyes before pulling Daxter's napping pillow over his face. "Dammit, Dax, I feel like a jerk! My face hurts from scowling all the time! If I'm not asleep I'm on edge and knotted up, and I'm sick of it!"

Ears drooping sympathetically Daxter slid off Jak's chest, ready to do a supportive cheek nuzzle if need be. "Anythin' I can do ta make ya feel better? B'sides make the goofy animal noise? Which I know ya really get a kick outta that, pal, but it just does nothin' fer me."

Jak managed to smile slightly, pulling the pillow away and tossing it back toward the head of the bed. "Thanks, Dax, but no thanks. Last time you tried to cheer me up I had to listen to your theory of why Razer and Erol would make a good couple."

Dax grinned. He remembered that as one of his better comedic scenarios, though it probably still came back once in a while to thoroughly freak his friend out. "Oh, yeah. Well, if ya wanna escape traumatic mental images fer the night I can always tell ya some Krew fat jokes instead."

"Yeah, I really don't think so." To Daxter's credit, Jak was smiling in earnest as he shoved himself upright and got off the bed. "I think I'll just go take a hot bath or something… that's supposed to be relaxing, right?"

Dax's ears perked, swiveling like twin periscopes. He'd forgotten that their borrowed room had a bath! Tonight he wouldn't have to settle for two inches max of lukewarm water to roll in if he felt like getting good and soaked. "Oh, yeah! Right behind ya, buddy!"

"You always have loved water, haven't you?" Jak chuckled, effortlessly balancing on one foot to remove a boot. Daxter, poised to leap from the bed and beat his friend to the bathroom, froze.

This was it. The perfect chance to start his experiment.

Jak was undressing right in front of him. And, not that it hadn't happened countless times before, this time he had a reason to watch. Slowly, eyes never leaving the oblivious racer, Dax sank back to the mattress.

_That's it, Jakkie-boy, strip fer papa._ He watched avidly as the second boot hit the floor and Jak moved on, unfastening myriad buckles and slinking out of his tight leather racing chaps like a tree snake shedding its skin._ Pardon the pun, but we'll get ta the bottom of this in no time._

It was time to think appreciative thoughts. Now, what about Jak could be considered physically attractive? Daxter never really had been one to actively admire much of anything that wasn't nicely endowed and female or full and a container of liquor, but he did his best.

How could a torso that looked as if it had been chiseled out of solid rock be comfortable enough to curl up and doze off on, he wondered absently as Jak's shirt was peeled up and off. Flawless abs and perfectly sculpted pectoral muscles taunted the ottsel somewhat. Arms that could pick up and toss bulky racer parts and effortlessly wield guns almost as tall as Jak himself made him slightly envious.

_The big guy's got a bod, that's fer sure,_ he sighed a bit moodily. _Good thing I'm not the jealous type. Okay, concentrate! This is supposed ta be turnin' ya on, here. There's gotta be somethin', __anythin'_

Unconcernedly, Jak strolled across the room with unbuttoned pants riding low on sinfully narrow hips. Still unaware that he was being watched so closely, he sought out the rucksack that had been dropped carelessly in a corner.

"Watcha lookin' for?" Daxter asked nonchalantly. It wouldn't do for Jak to become suspicious of his long stretch of silence. He could still look while they chatted.

"Eh, just my brush. I thought I threw it in here… here it is." Pulling a few loose green and yellow hairs from the bristles Jak began to tease out the knots and snags that a long day on the go left behind. "Think I'll have Keira cut it for me again soon. It just gets too tangled long."

Dax grinned. "Maybe it wouldn't get tangled at all if ya wouldn't pull it in rage an' frustration."

"I doubt that. Anyway… you know me, always gotta change up the style. Come on, don't tell me you don't think the length and the sideburns together are too much?"

"I'd whack off the cheek hedges before I'd touch the hair." Sitting up again, the ottsel considered for a moment before beckoning his friend over. "Hey, c'mere fer a sec."

"Huh?" Jak was puzzled, but nevertheless did as he was told. "Okay…"

"Sit."

Once the curious racer was situated to his satisfaction, seated on the floor with his back to the side of the bed, Daxter moved so that his legs dangled over the edge and feet touched Jak's bare shoulders. Grabbing the brush out of his friend's hand he passed it through the green-blonde mess before him.

Jak chuckled and relaxed, tilting his head back even further to allow Dax and his brush more access. "I guess it's been a while, huh?"

"Nah, only about four years." Daxter snorted sarcastically, gathering a handful of hair to avoid pulling at the knots near the nape of Jak's neck. He flashed a smile Jak couldn't see as the two-toned strands slipped through his fingers.

It really had been a while.

Back when, _way_ back, back before he was small enough to hide behind Jak's hair, he'd sometimes helped the other boy style it. Whether it was first thing in the morning or late at night after a bath, he'd always secretly enjoyed messing with Jak's hair. Most often he'd combed gel into it, making sure the stuff didn't stick and clump. Those had been good times, both boys in Jak's bedroom, usually giggling madly about one thing or another and trying to keep the volume low enough that "Uncle" Samos wouldn't find reason to yell at them to keep it down.

Yeah, it had been a while alright.

Jak was pushing back into the brushing now, hums and flicking ears wordlessly telling the ottsel where to move the brush. If Dax had sought a way to chill the racer out, he'd hit on a good one.

Daxter brushed until the hair he held looked and felt like corn silk, and kept going. Having discovered anew how nice the activity was, he didn't really want to stop. Finally, though, he set the brush down and crossed his arms over the top of Jak's head. "All done, big guy."

"Mmm." Jak stretched contentedly, careful not to throw the ottsel off. "Thanks, Dax. That was really nice."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'll let ya get used ta that again. Pendin' ya don't chop it all off." Reaching down, Daxter fondly patted his friend's cheek. "Don't know why I stopped doin' it in the first place."

He did know, though. Some dark eco had oozed in to irreparably throw off their routine. Since then they'd both had more to worry about than the condition of Jak's hair, let alone the question of who would be messing with it. Dax resolved then and there to take over the job as often as he could from then on, at least until Jak cut it again.

"Well…" Gently easing Daxter off his head and shoulders, Jak got to his feet and stretched again. "I'm gonna go run that bath before it gets any later. With any luck we'll be up and leaving early tomorrow."

The ottsel's ears fell. He cursed silently as Jak disappeared into the bathroom and a pair of faded denims came flying out a moment later. Damn it, he'd screwed around and wasted his opportunity! He felt all warm on the inside, alright, but it was the wrong kind of warm. Gooey and fuzzy rather than the tense and excited he needed.

Jumping off the bed, the ottsel strode with great purpose toward the sound of running water and a happily humming green-blonde. He'd get it this time, for sure.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak whistled lightly to himself as he turned off the tap and sank slowly into the hot water and bubbles. Oh yes, this had been a good idea. Daxter's surprise offer to brush his hair had successfully calmed him down and the bath seemed ready to keep him that way. He might loosen up this evening whether he wanted to or not.

Leaning back in the large tub the racer closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of warmth enveloping his skin and tiny, shimmering bubbles popping softly all around him. What a way to relax.

"Banzai!"

There was an almighty splash. Jak gaped, eyes flying open as a wave of water hit him right in the face, soaking his perfectly brushed hair. An equally soaked Daxter grinned sheepishly back at him.

"Eh-heh, whoopsie. Kinda forgot ya shouldn't dive in when ya ain't two feet tall."

Jak stared. "What are you doing in here?"

"Well I ain't changin' spark plugs." Daxter snorted, shaking off a clump of bubbles clinging stubbornly in his red hair. "I'm takin' a bath with ya, what's it look like?"

The look on Jak's face was comical. He slowly shook his own head, trying to make sense of this newest development. "No, I mean why aren't you furry?"

"Why should I be?" Daxter unconcernedly made himself at home, nudging the racer's legs out of the way under the water so he could stretch out his own. "Who's gonna see? Plus, it's been forever since I had a bath an' didn't hav'ta skim ottsel hairs outta the water. Good thing this joint don't skimp on tub sizes, huh?"

Inside, Jak was reeling with disbelief. His friend had had all damn day to mess around in the room as a human, and he only decided to change now so he could lounge naked practically in Jak's lap? _I should kill him,_ he thought, sinking down in the water until his goatee nearly touched the bubbles and squeezing his eyes shut tightly. _Just kill him now and save myself a lot of grief._

"You're mopping up the floor."

Dax ignored the flooded stone tiles in favor of tracking down the soap and washcloth. "It'll dry. Hey Jak, remember all those baths we took together as kids? Remember that time we overflowed the tub at yer uncle's place?"

He did, vaguely. "Yeah. You plugged up the drain and the whole house flooded." Needless to say, the old man had been pissed.

"Hey, I was five. Kids do dumb stuff like that. B'sides, if I remember right it was yer foot wrap blockin' the pipe. 'Course ya always did like ta play innocent…"

Jak flushed, shooting a glare at the smug redhead. As long as they kept bantering like this he could almost ignore the fact that he could clearly see every tiny drop of moisture that rolled down Daxter's slick skin. "Maybe that's because I usually _was_ innocent. Just because you were a professional hellion doesn't mean I was devious too."

"Sure, Jak, sure." Dax cocked a brow, bucktoothed smirk indicating he didn't believe a word. "Now turn around."

Jak jumped in surprise and alarm, more water sloshing up and over the rim of the bath. "What? Why?"

"Jeez, big guy, yer a little slow this evenin'." The redhead rolled his eyes, waving the soapy cloth in front of his friend's face. "Lemme wash yer back fer ya."

"No! Stay back!"

Mass splashing ensued as Jak frantically tried to scramble away, slipping and sliding against the smooth stone. Dax was quick, though, and managed to catch the racer by one ear.

"Jak, what's yer problem? Yer splashin' out all our water! Settle down, will ya? Yeesh, it's like ya don't want me ta touch ya or somethin'."

"I can wash myself," Jak gritted, forced to keep his head turned toward the pressure on his ear. The very last thing he needed was Daxter's hands on him in any way. Stranded in the bath, there would be no way to hide what the touch would undoubtedly do him. He'd be exposed, as it were, in more ways than one. He couldn't let that happen.

"Quit bein' a baby an' act thankful I'm takin' time ta pamper ya like this when ya feel down an' out!" With that Daxter slapped the washcloth over the shoulders in front of him and began to scrub, muttering about ungrateful heroes.

Jak gulped as his ear was finally released, choosing to blame his red face on the hot water and warm, humid air. "Yeah, well… what about you? You were pretty out of it the other day and you never even told me what that was about."

"Oh, that?" Dax answered nonchalantly, running the cloth up the back of Jak's neck and eliciting an involuntary shudder from the racer. "I just sorta accidentally found out that Tess has somethin' goin' on with that tall, dark an' scruffy guy that blows junk up."

Jak sat up straight, half turning to stare disbelievingly at his friend. "_Jinx?!_"

"Yeah, the ugly blonde one. Uh, nothin' against blondes, by the way. Yer blonde's a lot nicer than his." Daxter reassured this by giving a lock of Jak's hair a slight tug. "It's all sorted out now, anyways."

"Oh…" Jak was dumbfounded. "Dax… I'm really sorry…" He didn't really know what to say. Was there some special phrase of consolation you were supposed to use when your best friend had been cheated on?

"Thanks, pal, but it's fine. I'm over it an' we're still friends, that's pretty much the important thing."

"Yeah, but…"

The racer was at a loss. How could Daxter be taking this so well? He had loved Tess so much, even when there hadn't been a hope of him ever again being anything but an ottsel. Jak had been sure their relationship would be perfect, now that they could match up in either species. Hearing that Tess didn't take his friend's devotion seriously made him angry on Daxter's behalf. He'd be hard pressed to be friendly with her the next time they met.

"I'm still sorry."

The redhead paused, then heaved a sigh. "Yeah, big guy… me too." Flinging the used washcloth away he looped thin arms around Jak's neck and laid his chin on the green-blonde's soapy shoulder. Another sigh tickled the base of Jak's ear.

Jak fidgeted, not knowing what to do with his hands. Daxter was draped full against his back and… and now really wasn't the time to be aroused by that! He wanted to try to comfort Dax somehow, but all be damned if he would hug him until they were both out of the water and, preferably, dressed. He hesitated, not sure what to do, until suddenly the redhead's arms tightened.

"Then again…" Dax was so close Jak could almost feel his smile. Hot breath whispered in his ear. "Ya know what they say. When one door closes, maybe another's about ta pop open an' smack ya in the kisser."

Jak wasn't sure why, but a sudden chill ran down his spine. His flush intensified. "Y-yeah, that's true. I'm, uh, I'm glad you're thinking so positively about this, Dax."

"What can I say? Ya can't keep Orange Lightning down."

_No, I can't. I can't even keep myself down._ Jak sniggered at his own private joke as Daxter finally deigned to release his slippery hold and set about washing himself.

It was getting hot in there, in more ways than one. Properly washed or not, Jak was ready to leave the bath. The bubbles were fading, allowing the visibility to steadily grow, and he needed to negotiate a way out of the water that did not involve Daxter hanging all over him while he did it. Dax had always been a bit on the touchy, feely, grabby side, but Jak thought this was a little much.

Slowly, the racer reached for a towel he had earlier thrown to the side. If he could very quickly stand up and get it around him while the redhead was still occupied with scrubbing, he could make a clean getaway and be dressed before Daxter even got out of the tub. Minimal looksies all around.

Jak was at a loss, though, when Dax whisked the towel from his hand.

"Oh, thanks pal. It's been nice, but I hate prunes an' don't wanna be one. So, ya gonna be much longer?"

Jak threw his head back so quickly his neck made a distinct popping sound, staring desperately at the ceiling as Daxter abruptly stood up. He winced as the throbbing in the suddenly twisted muscles traveled slowly but surely down to between his shoulder blades. "Uh, not too much longer I guess."

"Ya might wanna hurry. Yer lookin' a little red in the face, there."

_Don't look down, don't look down… it hurts but don't look down… _Jak fidgeted at the obvious sound of water dripping off his unconcerned friend, anxiously drumming his fingers on the rim of the tub. _Just get out of here, you little twerp. I think I broke my neck._

There was a swish of towel. Jak hazarded a quick glance and was rewarded with the sight of the towel slipping down around Daxter's middle as the redhead stepped out of the tub. He'd wrapped it twice and it was still too big to fit his tiny frame. Jak nearly smiled, until his companion made an annoyed sound and whipped off the offending fabric to dry his hair.

"Meep!"

Unaware that he'd just made the most un-masculine sound of his life, Jak stared helplessly as Daxter industriously dried himself off. No matter how hard he tried to look away, his eyes seemed riveted to the towel as it traveled through his friend's hair and down. _Look away, dammit, look away right now…! Oh, shit, I can't stop looking! My eyes are broken!_

Finally, Daxter finished drying and threw the towel over his shoulder. "Man, that's better. Well, I'm gonna go hunt down somethin' cold ta drink. It's gettin' kinda… _steamy_ in here." With one last shake of still-dripping hair the redhead strolled back to the bedroom, whistling innocently.

The door had barely snapped shut when Jak sprang forward, wrenched on the cold water tap and plunged his head beneath the icy stream. "Grrr, you sick _bastard!_ Pervert! Voyeur! Sleaze! Get it together, you horny _jackass!_"

So absorbed was he in giving himself a piece of his mind that the racer failed to notice the slight echo of barely stifled laughter from the other room. As the freezing water did its best too cool his libido, he had to wonder. The situation couldn't possibly get worse… could it?

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter was waiting, perched expectantly on the bed in a robe four sizes too large that he'd swiped from the room's spacious closet. Impatiently he toyed with the lid of Jak's canteen, hoping the racer would get a move on so he could continue with his new favorite game: teasing Jak.

In the bath he'd had the green-blonde right where he wanted him, and was amazed at the reactions he'd gotten from his friend. The emotions he saw on Jak with most regularity were anger, frustration and… yep, more anger. Tonight, in the space of fifteen minutes the redhead had been able to coax shock, panic, concern, and, dare he say it, lust.

The last one made Daxter a little proud this time, now that it didn't sneak up and catch him by surprise. It even gave him a bit of that tingly feeling he was after, which in turn gave him hope. It might not be impossible for him to get aroused over Jak, not if the big guy kept responding like that and making him feel all special. And he did feel special, really. As far as Dax knew Jak didn't get worked up like that over anyone else, so it was kind of an honor now that he thought about it.

"C'mon, Jakkie-boy, let's move it along, here…"

Finally, after what seemed hours to the impatient redhead, the racer in question snuck out of the bathroom. Glancing from side to side as if he expected an ambush, Jak crept slowly out from behind the door. Dax was amused to note that he had a death grip on the towel around his waist.

"Forget somethin', there?" He sniggered at his friend's state of undress and how uncomfortable he obviously was. "Sorry, I'd lend ya the robe, but then… that'd leave me high an' dry, wouldn't it? It's freezin' in here."

Giving Daxter a sour look, Jak headed for his bag. "I noticed. I assume you crammed my clothes back in here?"

"Nope, I kicked 'em under the bed. Ya don't really expect me ta pick up after ya?"

"Dax!"

"Kidding!" The redhead pointed to the small pile of clothes and the bigger pile of belts and buckles stacked on the little table next to the bed. "See, I can be nice an' helpful. Geeze, big guy, you really need ta loosen up. Weren't ya supposed ta be relaxin'?"

Jak didn't answer, merely grumbling as he sorted through the pile. Daxter cocked his head quizzically. Hmm… It looked like he needed to be quick and find another way to mess with Jak before the green-blonde got his composure back. What to do, what to do…

"Hey, Jak?"

"Hmm?"

"Sit down. I gotta idea."

O.O.O.O.O

To Be Continued…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: See there, nice long chapter to make up for last time. If I'd continued this last scene it would have been like, way longer. So I chopped it off at the good part and you get to wait until next time for it! Isn't that fun?

I'll try to hurry. I promise. 'Til then, everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** This should technically be looked at as the second half of chapter four. You can think of it that way, if you like. And… well, I think I'm good and out of things to say. I wasted everything I had on the fic. So do please enjoy it. Reviewers… I love you.

**Disclaimer:** The ottsel and his friends are not mine. Though I love them, I get no profit from exploiting them. Just perverse joy.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

With much trepidation, Jak slowly took a seat on the edge of the bed. He stared warily at Daxter. The racer had no idea what his friend's new "idea" was, but after the hell the redhead had unconsciously put Jak through in the bath he was going to keep firmly on his guard and avoid any more painful and awkward situations.

Or, so he thought.

"That's great. Now lay back."

Jak let out a surprised "oof!" as Daxter pushed with what felt like all his slight weight, shoving the green-blonde backwards onto the large bed. Reflexively Jak grabbed for the feeble protection of the towel around his waist, making certain it had held. He tried to keep absolutely calm in the face of what he deemed a severe emergency, though his voice had admittedly acquired a sudden squeak.

"Daxter," _deep breath, don't let him see you're terrified,_ "what are you doing?"

The redhead seemed to loom over Jak, managing to look intimidating despite the difference in their sizes. Eyes hooded and a lazy smirk in place, he leaned down until they were almost nose to nose. "I'm doin' somethin' that ya might not like, Jak, but it's gotta be done. I'm gonna…"

Jak flinched away, unable to move, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth almost painfully. _Ohgodsohgodsohgods—_

"…rub yer back fer ya! Yer wound up tighter than a trigger on one'a Tessy's guns. Ya'll never get ta sleep like that, I guarantee it."

Jak blinked. "…what?"

Daxter was nudging him, trying to get him to move. "Yeah, it'll do ya a world of good. Don't worry about thankin' me, just consider it payback fer that nice rubdown ya gave me the other night. Now roll over."

All Jak could do was laugh, nearly weak with relief. Now, really, what had he been thinking? Of_ course_ Dax just wanted to return the favor of a massage. Silly overactive imagination. "Uh, can't I just sit up for that?"

"Nah, it works better like this. 'Cause, ya know, those knots ya got there are pretty fierce, an'…" Daxter looked quickly about the room, then whispered from behind his hand as if it were a secret. "I'm kinda not strong enough without the right leverage, know what I'm sayin'?"

Biting back another laugh, Jak obligingly rolled onto his stomach.

Okay, this he could handle. Two minutes, tops, and he was sure he could force his muscles to relax. Then Daxter would be satisfied and quit pestering him about how tense he was. Maybe he could even persuade the redhead to resume ottseldom and tuck Orange Lightning under his chin for the night. That sounded nice. He could endure a couple minutes of being pawed for that.

Or, so he thought.

"Sure, Dax. Go ahead, knock yourself out."

"Don't mind if I do." Daxter chuckled, cracking his knuckles confidently like a maestro about to direct a symphony. "Don't worry, Jakkie-boy, yer gonna feel _great_ by the time I get done with ya!"

Jak merely hummed in acknowledgement, grabbing a pillow and dropping his head down onto it. He was used to ottsel feet tripping up and down his spine, sometimes in the dead of night when he was _trying_ to sleep, but overall it felt nice. He wondered what this might feel like. Hopefully not bad. The racer wasn't much in the habit of letting non-furry people touch him, but maybe just this once…

"Gyaaah!"

Daxter had pounced, the heels of both palms suddenly digging into the small of Jak's back with his entire weight behind them. "Big knot," he muttered by way of explanation.

"Geeze, Dax, careful back there. You're supposed to relax me, not body-slam me." He knew Daxter still had a little trouble sometimes readjusting to a bigger body and toning down how much force he used when doing things, but yikes.

"He-heh, sorry. Gentle now, I promise." True to his word the redhead carefully moved up Jak's back, making every effort to press lightly. "What'd ya do ta yer neck, big guy? Ya twist it or somethin'?"

Jak rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself. "Maybe."

"That'll teach ya ta turn yer head more slowly when yer scopin' babes from the zoomer. Either slow it down or don't look, it ain't worth whiplash."

"Scoping babes, huh?" Jak sniggered into the pillow; if only Daxter knew. "Whatever you say."

Daxter huffed. "Yeah, whatever I say, 'cause whatever I say is usually right. Now hold still."

Jak twitched an ear, wondering why he should be any more still than he was. He was still wondering when, without preamble, Daxter unceremoniously threw a leg over his back and sat down on him. Cue panic attack… _now_.

"Okay, whoa! Get up! Off!"

"I said be still!" As Jak tried to struggle upright Daxter quickly grabbed for his shoulders, digging both thumbs into the tense muscles at the base of the racer's neck. Jak froze with a pained sound, then slowly collapsed back into his former position. "This'll be a lot less painful fer the both of us if ya just lay there an' take it like a man, got it?"

"Daxter, I swear," Jak growled as his neck began to be kneaded in earnest, "if you were anybody else…"

"I'd be shot, run over, broken inta itty bits an' used as an angry eco monster's chew toy, I know. Kinda makes me glad ta be me."

Jak snorted at the smug tone in his best friend's voice. Confident little shit. Lucky for him it was impossible for Jak to form a decent retort in the face of the muscles in his neck and shoulders twitching spastically. All he could do was lie there and mutter, hands plucking restlessly at the bedspread and sometimes clenching in the fabric when an especially tender spot was poked at.

"Are you done yet?"

"Are ya relaxed yet?"

"No."

"Then I'm not done. Deal with it."

Jak tensed minutely, wondering if he might simply toss his captor off and get up on his own. He vetoed the plan, though, when Daxter's knees, one on each side of his ribcage, gave a warning squeeze that was echoed by the hands on his back. The racer groaned and buried his face in the pillow, ears laid flat at the indignity of it all. This was absolutely not what he had signed up for.

Little by little, however, the persistent prodding and kneading began to pay off.

Almost grudgingly, Jak admitted that he could feel some of the stiffness easing from his muscles. What Daxter was doing was no longer uncomfortable, and had even begun to feel somewhat pleasant. He let his eyes close and concentrated on relaxing even further. The sooner he did, the sooner he could get the redhead off of him. Not that the warm weight was a bad thing, it was just… more of that stimulation he both desperately wanted and didn't want at all.

Oh, well. As long as Daxter didn't move around too much it would be fine, and it would be only a matter of minutes before he could escape this disgruntling predicament and sleep soundly with a soft, cuddly ottsel warming his poor abused neck.

Or, so he thought.

O.O.O.O.O

For a while Daxter thought his idea wasn't going to work. Jak remained stubbornly tensed, seemingly immune to his touch. Finally, though, he began to see some results. Jak sighed and shifted beneath him, no longer holding the pillow in a death grip. After a while he simply laid his head on his arms and all but sank into the mattress, almost as if he were about to fall asleep.

Curiously, Daxter went back to the spot on Jak's neck that had seemed to be the sorest earlier and gave a hard press. No response from the racer indicated completely relaxed muscles that no longer hurt. The redhead grinned.

It was time to initiate the second stage of his idea.

Unobtrusively, he began to alter the way he was touching Jak. Strong rubs and presses slowly became gentle caresses, stroking softly across scarred skin.

Dax knew the moment Jak registered the change. As his hands drifted gently but firmly down the racer's sides Jak jerked under the touch, tensing visibly. Inwardly Daxter gave a cheer.

"Watsa matter now, babe? Yer all stiff again."

Jak half rose on one elbow, staring warily over his shoulder. "Dax… come on, you really need to get off now."

"Will ya just chill already? I'm not gonna tickle ya, if that's what yer worried about." Fighting back a grin and avoiding Jak's half suspicious and half pleading gaze, he removed his hands from their vulnerable, ticklish territory and sent them back toward his friend's shoulders.

This would have to be played very carefully.

If he accidentally spooked Jak the racer would undoubtedly make a run for it, and there was no question that Daxter lacked the brute strength to keep him down. Somehow he doubted that restraining his friend was a very good idea anyway, in the face of all Jak had been through. No, it was much better if the green-blonde voluntarily stayed where he was and let Daxter work his magic.

Humming lightly, the tune to a song ten-year-old Keira used to sing ages and ages ago about little birds in a berry tree, the redhead trailed his fingers down Jak's spine. Stopping just at the edge of the towel he twirled a little design across the skin in the small of the racer's back before resuming the upward stroke.

Beneath him Jak shuddered and squirmed, making a pitiful, though obviously stifled, moaning sound. And, to his everlasting wonder and delight, an answering shiver ran through Daxter. At last! Results!

For a moment he nearly felt lightheaded as the reality of it all sank in. There he was in a borrowed robe that was doing its level best to fall off his narrow shoulders, suggestively straddling Jak's hips and trying his damnedest to get them both hot and bothered without making it seem too obvious that he was doing so. And apparently he was succeeding.

Barely holding back a hysterical giggle, Daxter gave a mighty stretch and flopped down across the racer's back, hugging him tightly around the shoulders. He didn't know why, but quite suddenly he wanted to be as close to Jak as humanly possible. Full body contact achieved by lying on his friend seemed just the ticket.

Jak gasped, then gave a miserable whine as Daxter's full weight descended on him from chest to knees. "Dax… for Precursors' sake, what are you doing…?"

Secure in the knowledge that Jak couldn't see the stupid grin on his face, the redhead nuzzled his cheek into Jak's shoulder and lightly flicked the very tip of his ear. "Just messin', big guy, just messin'."

"Can you not 'mess' with someone else?" Emitting what could very well be the most frustrated groan Daxter had ever heard, the racer seized a stray pillow and shoved his head under it. Dax had to wonder how much longer the green-blonde could possibly hold out without either popping him one or… well, something a lot less violent and a lot more appealing.

That thought in mind, Daxter pushed himself upright once more. Just maybe… Crooking his fingers he drew his nails lightly and rapidly all over Jak's back and sides, earning a full body shiver. Jak peeked cautiously from under the pillow.

"There ya go, pal. All done." Wondering absently at the mysterious catch in his voice, Dax paused, took a deep breath, and rolled off his friend. Jak jumped as the redhead landed beside him, gazing at him with a look of silent, wide-eyed curiosity Dax hadn't seen in quite a while.

On his back next to Jak with his arms pillowed behind his head and robe pooling around him, Daxter smiled; a look that held what he considered to be a lot of promise. "Now you do me."

Jak stared. He blinked and gulped, flushed red and turned pale before Daxter's very eyes. And faster than Dax had ever seen him move prior to that very moment, he was off the bed and out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.

Daxter sighed. Sitting up, he scratched his head and stared at the door in a mix of amusement and mild annoyance. "Well, guess I coulda phrased that a little better…"

O.O.O.O.O

Shell-shocked was the only way to accurately describe Jak's condition upon fleeing the room. He'd hit the dimly lit hallway at a flat run and only stopped when several winding passages separated him from what lay behind.

Panting quietly in a dark, secluded alcove, he tried to be calm and take stock of his situation.

_Think, soldier,_ he schooled himself firmly. _You're deep in unfamiliar territory without adequate supplies or clothing._ His hand tightened around the knot in his faithful little bath towel kilt. _This bites._

Why, why in the name of his ancestor Mar had Daxter been behaving like that?! One more second in there with him acting like a clingy little hanging vine and Jak would have done something terrible! The flustered racer rubbed at his eyes in a halfhearted attempt to banish the images in his head. He could literally see himself grabbing Daxter, holding him close, kissing and touching him… and see Daxter's look of shock and disgust.

_No, you can't think things like that, damn it! He has no idea what he's doing to you!_ Jak shook his head harshly.

Well, at any rate he definitely couldn't go back to the room any time soon. He also couldn't just stand there in the cold, dark hallway in nothing but a damp towel.

With a deep sigh, Jak shoved himself away from the wall and left the protection of his alcove. He thought he knew the location of the room Torn was staying in, if he could only get there without running into anyone else along the way. What a sight he'd be slinking through the halls, disheveled and almost naked in the middle of the night. And still extremely uncomfortable below the belt, to boot.

Sneaking along the corridors, trying to keep to the shadows, the racer at last reached the door he felt was the right one. Just to be sure, he crept closer and very carefully laid a long ear to the wood. There was a muffled conversation going on inside.

"… it's so late… _mumble mumble_ do you have to change it now?"

"Well I'm not _mumblety mumble_ sleep on dirty sheets!"

"Ashe, _grumble-mumble_, why don't you just throw a towel over the wet spot and we'll change the bed in the _mumble_ morning?"

With a sigh of relief, Jak pulled back and knocked firmly on the door.

There was an immediate scuffle inside before everything went quiet, and the door opened the barest crack. A wary eye peered out. "Who's there?"

Jak couldn't help but smirk. "Hey Torn."

"Oh, it's only you." The door swung wide, revealing a rumpled Torn hastily wrapped in a wrinkled sheet. "What do you want?"

"I need to borrow some pants."

The dreadlocked man stared. "You've got to be shitting me."

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Jak gestured at his towel.

It was Torn's turn to smirk. "I think first I'd like to know what you're doing wandering the palace at midnight looking like that. Where's your rat? You finally find somebody to surgically remove it from your shoulder, or is it off pretending to be normal tonight?"

"Hey, is Ashelin here with you?" Standing on tiptoe to peer over the taller man's shoulder, Jak made a great show of trying to get a look inside the room. There was a stifled and obviously feminine yell from inside.

The rebel leader quickly swung the door closed with a mumbled curse. "Fine, you don't ask and I don't ask. All I want to know is why the hell I should let you take off in my pants."

"Because it won't hurt anything and I'll have them back by morning."

"Where are your own damn pants?!"

"I thought we weren't asking questions. Besides," the green-blonde looked pointedly at his companion's bed sheet toga, "something tells me you won't be needing them for a while."

Torn stared hard at him, then disappeared with a quick click of the door.

_Dax would be proud of that comeback,_ Jak thought absently before a pair of pants, thankfully clean, came flying out and landed on his head. The racer winced. He'd forgotten that he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Daxter right now.

"I want those washed and folded on my doorstep by daybreak, you got that soldier?"

Throwing a mock salute, Jak tossed the uniform pants over his shoulder and strolled away, feeling pleased. Now he could find an out of the way spot to shimmy into the pants and hide out as long as he needed to, perhaps in the kitchen or one of the libraries. If he waited long enough before returning to the room, there was a good chance Daxter would be asleep when he got there.

Jak knew his friend wouldn't be happy that he'd bolted without a word of explanation, but hopefully a good night's sleep would dampen his irritation and Jak could easily win himself back into Daxter's good graces with a nice big breakfast.

At the mental mention of food, Jak's ears twitched. Everything that had transpired since dinner had suddenly combined to make him extremely hungry. Pushing back a pang of guilt at the thought of snacking without Daxter the racer altered his course toward the palace kitchens, determined to kill some time.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter lay on his back on the plushy mattress, snuggled into the warm indent Jak had left in the blankets. He stared listlessly up at the bed canopy, finding himself at something of a loss.

If anyone had told him up until a few days ago that he would ever want to fool around with another male, let alone his best friend in the whole entire universe, the redhead would have called them insane. Perversely twisted. In possession of a serious mental disorder. I'm in love with Tess, dammit, Tess Tess Tess!!

But now he had to admit… he was a little disappointed.

He had thought he'd been doing everything right, at least until the object of his attentions ran from the room like his towel was on fire. Didn't Jak want to mess around even a _little?_

Daxter yawned, then sighed. Now, not only was there no possibility of any hanky panky that evening, but to add injury to insult he didn't even have his usual nice, warm Jak to fall asleep on. What was fair about that?

"Well, somebody just flipped this switch from suck ta blow."

Moodily, Dax twisted around until he was in a better position to shuck the robe. It really was much too big, and there was no real reason for him to be human if Jak wasn't there. Maybe if the racer decided to come back and he were furry, he could still swing a cuddle that night. Since Jak didn't seem to want to touch him otherwise.

When the pulses of eco wore off Daxter stretched, scratched behind one ear with a hind foot, and curled up on the discarded robe. Tucking his tail around himself until the tip brushed his nose, he settled down to wait for Jak. Again. It seemed he was doing a lot of that lately.

Aggravated, he allowed his ears to slick back in annoyance. Tess, Jinx, Jak… blondes sure could be irritating.

Then, suddenly, a thought struck the ottsel. His head jerked up, eyes widening in realization. Of course! Why hadn't he guessed it before?

Jak thought he was still upset over the deal with Tess and Jinx. That must be why he'd been shying away from Daxter's tentative shows of affection, even though it was clear he wanted them badly.

Dax laughed, feeling proud of his deductive reasoning skills.

For some reason he was also absurdly proud of Jak. Anyone else who'd been informed that their love interest had been recently dumped for a professional arsonist wouldn't hesitate to jump at the chance and make a serious move. But not Jak.

_He prob'ly thinks he'd be takin' advantage of me while I'm hurt an' desperate, or somethin',_ the ottsel thought, shaking his head in amazement. _Jakkie-boy, yer just such a nice guy. Dumb, but nice. Don't worry, though, the Orange Lightning'll set ya straight in no time!_

Oh, yes. Soon, very soon, hero-boy would partake of some sweet redhead lovin'. Daxter just had to figure out how to break the news to him first.

Smiling smugly Daxter lay down once more, but this time the prospect of waiting didn't seem quite so tedious. It appeared that more planning would be in order, and he could do with a little time on his furry hands.

O.O.O.O.O

It was very late when Jak returned.

"Dax? Daxter…?"

The racer opened the suite door slowly, fully expecting to be met up close and in his face by a pissed off redhead. In the event of just such an emergency, he had an excuse and an apology on the tip of his tongue and the bribe of a fresh pear in one hand. No matter what shape he happened to be in, Daxter loved fruit.

Jak was surprised to find, though, that neither the words nor the snack seemed necessary.

Though the room's lights were still on, Daxter was nowhere to be found. Curious, Jak wandered in, dropping the used towel in the floor and placing the pear on the table for later. Where could Dax possibly have gone? He hoped the redhead hadn't gotten fed up and gone out looking for him.

The robe was lying rumpled in the middle of the bed. Jak reached for it on a whim; the room was large and quite cold at this time of night, and Torn's pants didn't contribute much in the way of conserving warmth. There was a sleepy squeak of protest.

Daxter was asleep, curled in a small orange ball under the robe with head, tail and limbs tightly tucked for warmth. He was shivering slightly.

Jak instantly felt terrible.

He'd run out and left Dax alone in the cold with no proper clothes for his human self and no body heat for Orange Lightning to curl up against and soak up. That was mean to do to a real pet, let alone to a best friend masquerading as one. No matter his stupid issues and insecurities, he should have realized that Daxter would be cold and returned to do something about it.

Guiltily Jak re-tucked the robe firmly around Dax's tiny form.

Hurrying around the room, he hit all the lights but the small one next to the bed before quickly changing from the borrowed pants to his own boxers. Very gently, he picked Daxter up in one hand and turned the blankets down with the other. The ottsel twitched but didn't wake up.

When all was ready the racer placed his friend on a spare pillow and slid between the sheets. He hissed quietly. "Damn it, it's freezing in here!"

First thing in the morning he would ask Ashelin why such an important structure as the palace wasn't properly heated, at least in the residential areas. Stupid stubborn pinch-penny aristocrats…

There was an immediate transfer of ottsel from pillow to chest. Jak sighed, reaching out to turn off the light and immediately after beginning to pet the slowly warming fur. He was thankful he hadn't really spent the entire night away, as he had been seriously considering. Undoubtedly, the next morning he would have returned to find a furry orange ice cube.

Sensing the radiating warmth Daxter shifted, almost trying to burrow against the green-blonde's chest. Jak rolled over and pulled the ottsel closer, mostly for Daxter's benefit but partially for his own. Having a soft, fluffy thing to hold onto in the dark and the cold was immensely soothing, even if it was shivering like a leaf in the breeze.

A velvet ear brushed the underside of Jak's chin as Daxter suddenly stirred. "…Jak?"

"Yeah, it's me."

The racer braced for a sour look or stinging comment about his hasty departure and long absence, but none came. Instead, the ottsel merely smiled and wriggled further under Jak's chin, settling in with his tail wrapped around the green-blonde's head and nose behind Jak's ear. Jak's own nose was buried in the soft fur of Daxter's stomach, the tickle of it making his face twitch into a smile.

Jak was a little surprised, though. Usually Daxter just flopped down on top of him and was pretty happy to spend the night wherever he landed. It was rare for him to actively snuggle.

"'Night, big guy. Glad ya came back."

"Goodnight," Jak mumbled back, muffled by the fluffy butter-colored tummy fur in his face. Still smiling, he tried to unobtrusively rearrange his ottsel neck wrap. It wouldn't do if he woke in the night choking on Daxter's fur.

Daxter made no protest, easily shifting into the new shape Jak was coaxing him into. In moments he was turned about, head still under Jak's chin and one arm around the racer's neck, already almost asleep again.

Very gently Jak eased the goggles off his friend's head and tossed them lightly toward the foot of the bed. It would be more comfortable for the both of them that way, especially if Dax planned to spend the whole night cuddling. Which, of course, Jak hoped he would.

Curling a hand carefully around Daxter's middle, the racer closed his eyes and sighed softly. He was now _very_ glad he'd bullied himself into calming down and coming back. It just went to show that, no matter what happened, he would never be able to stay away from Daxter. Just as it should be.

Small, even breaths against his neck proved the ottsel to be asleep once more. Suddenly feeling bold, Jak tilted his head and placed a soft kiss behind one lightly flicking ear.

"Love you, Dax."

Lulled by the gentle, nearly purr-like sounds drifting from his peacefully dreaming friend, Jak slipped off to sleep.

O.O.O.O.O

To be continued…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: D'aww, they got a cuddle scene. You know, eventually there will be a _reason_ this is rated the way it is… but not just yet. I know you all love being left hanging.

Sorry to throw out another short installment, but since a good bit of it was run-on from the last chapter I kind of didn't have a choice. As penance, I thought I'd share some of the scenarios that went through my mind for the Torn-Jak-pants scene that just didn't fit at _all_, but I thought were too good to waste.

Please enjoy the random stupidity, taking care to be thankful I don't just shove anything into this poor fic that enters my messed up head, and I'll hurry along with the next chapter as fast as I can.

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: What are you doing out here in the middle of the night with no pants?

Jak: There was, um… a carbon monoxide leak in my room.

Torn: ….oh. (hopefully) Did it kill Daxter?

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: What are you doing out here in the middle of the night with no pants?

Jak: Oh, you know, just had a hot flash. Had to cool down somehow.

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: What are you doing out here in the middle of the night with no pants?

Jak: (waggles brows) What do you think, hot stuff?

Daxter: Dammit, Jak, you player! I turn my back for five minutes and this is what I find!

Ashelin: Step away from mah man, Blondie!

Torn: …o.O;;


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Alright, last chapter got the cute and fluffy. This one gets a little more, plus the perverted humor. Keeping even a little control over the humor is killing me. So embrace the comedy! Embrace also the first entrance of some characters that have been hovering quasi-patiently, but I had yet to write about… before now. Dun-dun-duuuun! On with the fic! Reviewers, you simply make life sunnier. Hugs and kissus for you.

**Warning!**: There might actually be a little bit of (gasp!) boyxboy messing about in this chapter. Some of you are cheering, some of you are groaning, but there it is. It's time this damn fic began drifting toward earning its rating.

**Disclaimer:** The wonderful characters, spiffy locations, awesome vehicles and wicked weapons written about herein are not mine. (cry cry) I'm not making any profit from this. (cry some more)

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It was sometime before dawn when Daxter awoke. The sky outside the window was still completely dark, and no birds had yet begun to sing.

He struggled out from under Jak's arm and sat up, blinking blearily. It was hot in there, held tight against Jak's warm chest under all the blankets in the little nest they seemed to have made during the night.

The ottsel yawned.

Hopping over folds in the blanket he jumped lightly from the bed to the low table next to it, harboring the vague idea that there was still some water in the canteen he'd left there. To his relief the bottle was half full, the water kept quite cool by the low temperature of the room.

Eagerly Daxter finished off the water and wiped the stray drops from his muzzle with the back of one ungloved hand. _Oh, yeah, that's better. Gettin' kinda toasty under all that. Roasted ottsels don't make dreams come true, baby._

He fluffed up his fur, allowing the cool air to flow through it. One of the many small pains of being a scrawny little ottsel as opposed to a scrawny little human included falling asleep freezing from not being able to make your own body heat and waking up panting from the warmth generated by your bedmate. Oh, well. At least Jak cared enough to try and keep him warm.

Hmm. Speaking of Jak… Dax felt the compulsory need to check on his friend, just on principle. An active guy like Jak needed his beauty sleep, and Dax liked to make sure he got it.

Sometimes during the night he would fetch the racer another blanket or pull one off of him, return the pillows that had been knocked on the floor to the bed, wake him up from the occasional nightmare and sooth him back to sleep after. Useful things like that.

Not that Jak ever really remembered anything about those little favors the next morning, but the ottsel liked it that way. It wouldn't do much for his image if it was discovered how much of a mama hen he actually was for Jak.

Careful not to land on his friend, Daxter leapt back to the bed.

Jak was still soundly asleep, on his side under the blankets with arms carefully curled into a space just right for Daxter to nuzzle into. The ottsel smiled at the consideration.

In all the years they'd been practicing co-species sleeping arrangements, Jak had never once rolled over on him. Sure he'd been kicked or knocked off the bed a time or two while Jak was in the throes of a vivid dream, and once or twice he'd been squeezed much too tightly, but overall he'd much rather sleep with his buddy than not.

"You alright, big guy?" he murmured quietly, not really expecting a response. "Too hot, not hot enough, just right?"

In fact, Jak did look a little cold. Dax wasn't surprised, really. While he was small enough to literally bathe in the heat Jak exuded, Jak was largely too big to benefit from the meager warmth the ottsel put out. Plus, Orange Lightning had fur. Jak had ratty boxers that honestly needed to be replaced. It was no contest who would be warmer through the night.

"Alrightie. Hold on a sec, I'll fix ya right up."

Darting into the bathroom so the crackles and flashes of eco would not disturb his friend (and it surely would, Jak the Big Bad Ass Kicker was much too well-conditioned to sleep through something like a sudden surge of bright light), Daxter peeked out a moment later human.

"Cripes, it's cold again!" Moving briskly back to the bed he grabbed the robe that had been carelessly thrown across the foot of it. Jak would probably appreciate it. As a second thought, he also switched off the alarm clock that waited threateningly on the table near his friend's head. Whether the racer chose to admit it or not, he would undoubtedly appreciate that as well when he didn't have bags under his baby blues the next morning.

The green-blonde mumbled briefly as Daxter slid back into bed beside him, cracking his eyes open the slightest bit. It was only moments, though, before the racer passed it off and was unconscious once more.

Dax smiled and shook his head as he fluffed the blankets back into place, whispering absently to his sleeping friend as he did so. "Now what'd happen if I was somebody who had wicked designs on ya, pal, and ya didn't even blink when I jumped in the sack with ya? Good thing I got only the best intentions."

Jak merely sighed into his pillow and shifted closer, one hand searching the space around him as if to determine where his ottsel had gone. Daxter's smile widened.

"Y'know, babe, sometimes yer just too cute fer yer own good." Carefully the redhead settled in beside Jak, slipping one arm around his friend's shoulders and resting his chin on the top of Jak's head. The arm that had been searching immediately curled around his waist and pulled him tighter against the racer. "I'm startin' ta think I never had a choice about… ya know. Maybe fallin' fer ya."

Jak's warm breath in the crook of his neck had Dax smothering a snort of laughter. He petted the mess of green and yellow hair his hand encountered, looking down at his friend's face as best he was able from the awkward angle. Jak's eyes were closed, his mouth open slightly.

Very softly, Daxter reached up and ran the pad of his thumb gently across Jak's lower lip. The warm puffs of air that brushed past were smooth and regular as the racer slept on obliviously.

_Oh, yeah. I could __totally__ kiss that._

Satisfied, Dax relaxed and lowered his head back against the pillows. His body fit nicely against Jak's in a way he hadn't noticed the last time he'd slept next to him in the non-ottsel fashion. It was really amazing how much could be realized after a time lapse of just a few days and a figurative smack over the head from a smart blonde bartender.

Oh, well. Alarm or not, it would be morning soon enough. Nice as it was to simply lie there and enjoy holding Jak, rather than the other way around, it was time to get back to sleep.

"Sweet dreams, big guy. Somethin' tells me we'll both be_ plenty_ warm now."

O.O.O.O.O

Jak hummed in contentment, lips trailing lightly down the side of Daxter's neck. One hand slid gently under the edge of the too-big robe, coaxing it to open wider so that he might kiss the soft skin above the redhead's collarbone.

He could think of no finer thing in the world than what he was doing right at that moment.

Actually, he couldn't really think at all just then. Where were they? What were they doing there? And why was Daxter suddenly allowing him to do such a thing? Dimly, the racer wondered if he could be dreaming. He moved in darkness, afraid that the wonderful sensations would vanish if he dared open his eyes.

_Precursors, please let this be real…_

He couldn't be dreaming, though. Never had a dream been so warm, so tactile. Jak basked in the heat from the smaller body pressed against him. He could feel every centimeter of Daxter's skin under his own, smell the soap he'd used in the bath, hear the happy noises he made as Jak's mouth continued lower.

"Jak…" A whispered sigh as the green-blonde's lips pressed against a seemingly fragile sternum. Daxter squirmed and stretched languidly under the attention, one hand falling to encircle a long, sensitive ear as the other moved backwards to scratch absently at the headboard. The movement caused the already loose robe to loosen further, much to Jak's delight.

Cupping a hand around Daxter's ribs, one palm nearly covering half the narrow chest, he could feel the strong heartbeat beneath. Oh, yes. There was no way this could not be real.

Lips curving into a smile against the skin they seemed adhered to Jak shifted and moved higher, one knee easing between the redhead's thighs. Daxter squeaked and bucked up into the contact, hand moving from Jak's ear to grasp desperately at his shoulder.

Almost unable to contain his happiness, the racer leaned forward, closer and closer, ready to claim that sweet, witty, whiney, sarcastic mouth in their first kiss. Until the mouth in question began to move.

"Hnn… Jak… don' think we should be doin' this in… mmm… Sig's kitchen…"

The scene ground to a halt. What in all the _hells_…?

Jak's eyes popped open, nearly blinding him as bright morning light reflected through the high window and off the snowy white sheets. He clapped a hand over his face, rubbing frantically. He'd seen enough before the sunspots took over his vision to know that there was something spread out on those sheets…

That something of course was Daxter. Sprawled on his back with one arm flung above his head and a fist half curled near his mouth, the redhead looked sweet. Innocent. Vulnerable. And exactly like he'd just been molested in his sleep.

"Oh, no…" Jak breathed. He felt numb. Dumbly he surveyed his handiwork.

His friend's flushed cheeks and red ear tips. The deep, panting breaths pulled past the slight overbite. The useless robe, gaping wide from neck to beneath the navel, loose sash barely managing to keep the rest closed and conceal what mattered.

The racer no longer felt numb. Now he felt sick.

Jak backed slowly off the bed, deftly avoiding the hand that reached out unconsciously as he drew away. Throwing one of the blankets over Daxter he stumbled, extremely uncomfortable, to the bathroom and collapsed against the sink.

_That's great, Jak,_ a little voice seemed to say._ That's just perfect. Just… just go ahead and rape him in his sleep, you monster!_

_Oh, come on, it's not exactly your fault, _another side coaxed as Jak was just about to bash his head against the faucet. _You were practically asleep yourself. You didn't know he wasn't awake. Hell, you didn't even know he went human during the night. Besides, he didn't look like he was hating it,__ if__ you know what I mean…_

Staring at himself in the mirror, Jak had to bite back a hysterical laugh. Not only had he just practically taken advantage of his dearest friend, but he was also going crazy.

Biting one hand to keep from laughing, he hesitated the barest fraction of a second before plunging the other into his boxers.

All things considered, whatever he did with all that built up tension now didn't really matter. If Daxter woke up and had any recollection of what had happened, Jak wouldn't try to keep the redhead from killing him. But until then… just this once… what was the harm?

Settling back against the sink, Jak sighed and readjusted his hand. "Okay, perv… let's get this over with so you can at least pretend to be normal for the rest of the day. Just think of something other than Dax… something that _isn't Dax_…"

_Daxter Daxter Daxter_

"Damn it to hell!"

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter woke with a start as the shout echoed from the bathroom. "What the…?" That was weird. Who could be swearing so loudly so early in the morning?

Something was out of place.

Sitting up he yawned, the robe falling completely off his shoulders to pool around his waist. Sleepily he rubbed a palm over his eyes, ears twitching of their own accord at the odd sounds emanating from the bathroom.

Jak was no longer beside him.

With a lopsided smile that was half amusement and half fond resignation, Daxter collapsed backwards into bed once more. Yeah, getting angry and cursing a blue streak for unknown reasons at an ungodly hour of the morning while others were still trying to catch shut-eye in the next room might be considered a Jak thing to do.

Shifting back into the blankets, the redhead absently ran a hand over his bare chest and stomach. He felt amazingly content given the fact that he had just been rudely woken up.

He thought maybe he'd been having one of those really nice dreams that made you wake up all happy and lethargic for no reason, but he couldn't get a grip on the vague thoughts and images drifting in the corners of his mind. Letting his eyes slide shut again, Dax tried to remember what he'd been dreaming about.

A few minutes later, he was nudged fully awake once more as Jak reentered the room. The redhead stretched and directed a happy, lazy smile at the truant racer. "Hey, babe. Sleep good?"

It was obvious Jak hadn't known his friend was awake. He blushed to the green roots of his hair and rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck, refusing to meet Daxter's eye. "Uh. I mean, yeah, decent… I guess… You?"

Dax had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from speaking aloud what he thought next. _Oh, yeah, it's totally not obvious what ya were doin' in there. I gotta say though, Jakkie-boy, ya wear the "just got myself off" look real nice. _

"Eh, I slept like a baby." With a very relieved Jak staring at him as he lay comfortably sprawled on fluffy blankets and wrapped in the warm sunshine, Daxter had no plans of getting out of bed. "Orange Lightning just got a little warm in the middle'a the night, ya got a little cold, an' I fixed the problem. Feel like layin' back down fer a while?"

Jak's lingering blush intensified. "Dax, I, uh… wait a minute. What time is it, anyway?"

"Dunno, don't care. Come play with me!"

Daxter pouted as Jak largely ignored his double-sided demand and instead turned his attention to the clock. Here he was lying there, a stitch away from completely in the buff, ready to tickle, wrestle, make out—he didn't care which—and all Jak could concentrate on was the time. Damn him.

"Shit!" Jak moaned, grabbing said clock off the table and shaking it viciously. "The alarm didn't go off!" Daxter whistled innocently. "We are so late…"

Seeming to immediately forget all else, the racer dropped the abused clock and dove for his clothing. Dax watched with interest as his friend hopped around the room in one boot with his shirt stuck around one ear, goggles hanging from his teeth as he muttered furiously. The redhead was just about to get up and offer his assistance when there came a ferocious pounding on their door.

"Who is it?" Jak yelled, spitting out the goggles but still muffled by the shirt.

As if taking the query as an invitation to enter, whoever was at the door did exactly that. In stalked the imposing blue-haired presence of Rayn, who barely waited to catch sight of Jak before she began to lecture.

"Jak, do you have _any_ idea what time it is?" she demanded, waving her arm in a slightly spastic manner.

"Well, actually…" Jak started.

"No, no, don't say a word! We were supposed to meet downstairs _forty five_ minutes ago, and I for one did not get up at the ass-crack of dawn to come down here so everyone could stand me up! I just got through scaring Ashelin and Torn out of their wits and out of Torn's bed, but _you_ have no such excu—Mother of Mar!"

Daxter knew the instant she caught sight of him. _Oh, boy, here we go…_

"Who is _that?_"

The redhead, still reclining unconcernedly amidst the covers and pillows, grinned cheekily and waved. "Heya, sweet-cheeks."

"Can we talk about that later?" Jak asked, finally managing to pull his shirt into place. "I'll bring him down with me."

Rayn stared hard for just a moment before shrugging it off and stalking out. "Fine. You have five minutes!" The door closed behind her with unnecessary force.

Daxter blinked. "Ya know, she never seemed so bossy when I was short enough ta peek up her skirt."

O.O.O.O.O

The sun was high when Jak and Daxter finally returned from the palace.

Without even needing to ask, the racer brought their zoomer to a halt across the street from the Naughty Ottsel. "Go on, Dax, run and show Tess. I'll be back for you after I take this back to Keira's."

"Thanks, pal." The ottsel happily hopped down from the hovering vehicle dragging a large bundle of cloth behind him, raising a puff of dust as he landed. "Take yer time, huh? Ya look drained like a used battery. Take a break. Make Keira make ya lunch or somethin'."

Jak rolled his eyes at the prospect of "making" Keira do anything she didn't necessarily feel like doing, but didn't argue. He watched protectively until Daxter had safely cleared the road and made it to the sidewalk in front of the bar with his heavy burden.

The ottsel waved him off with a merry yell. "An' bring me more panties!"

Jak snorted and shook his head as he pulled around and slowly headed for the garage. Talk about having a one track mind. However, a small glimmer of hope was beginning to shine.

Maybe Keira would be glad to see him, especially if he brought her good zoomer back with no scratches or dents. Maybe she really would offer him lunch and they could talk and laugh while they ate, instead of him going back to the Naughty Ottsel and interrupting Dax's Tessy-time by begging for food. Maybe she had forgotten about that painfully embarrassing panty incident from the day before.

And maybe… just maybe… he could talk to her about the personal issue that was currently tying his brain, nerves, and guts in knots.

_Keira's technically my adopted cousin, for Precursors' sake,_ he rationalized. _We're practically family._ _Even if I pose it all strictly hypothetically, I bet she'll at least listen and be understanding. She won't need to know who it is I'm in love with or even that it's me who's doing the unrequited loving. Yeah, this could work!_

Energized by the thought of finally unburdening himself, if even indirectly, Jak cranked the zoomer and sped off.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter whistled cheerfully to himself as he slipped into the bar. Yet one more spectacular day to add to the growing store.

Despite Jak's initial and extreme displeasure at someone else being in on Dax's Precursor secret, there were big perks to the organizer of their racing team being that someone. The bundle he now carried was one of them; a brand new outfit of racing gear, minus boots that would be made custom, all in his human size.

Amazingly Rayn had taken everything in stride, not even bothering to scream when the strange redhead had literally vanished before her eyes and Jak's annoying ottsel buddy squirmed out from under the collapsed robe in his place. Dax had to hand it to her; the woman had her head on straight. Even Ashelin had yelped a bit when he'd first shown off that trick.

Chuckling evilly at the memory Daxter quickly found a place to change, shrugged into his new clothes, and went in search of a certain perky blonde.

"Tess! Oh, Tessy! Hey, wait 'til ya see what I—!" He stopped stock still in the threshold and stared. "Geeze, Tessy, what happened to ya?"

Behind the bar, Tess squealed and tried to cover her head with a washcloth. "Eeek! No, don't look at me, I look horrible!"

Morbidly curious, Dax approached the empty counter. "Come on, Tessy-kins, it can't be that bad. Tell Daxxie what happened, now…" He spoke soothingly while trying to pry her hands away from her head.

Finally he was successful. Tess blinked up tearfully between her fingers, her pretty blonde hair a shocking mess of clumps, tangles, and static electricity.

_Wow. No wonder the sign still says "closed" this late in the day._ Tess had been too embarrassed to even open up the saloon that morning and risk being seen by the general populace. "Hot_ damn_ that's awful—uh, I mean, it ain't that bad! But what'd ya do to it, exactly?"

Tess sniffled, beet red in the face and ears as she told her tale of woe. "Well… since you boys were going to be gone last night Keira and I decided to have a little bit of a sleepover at her place. I was helping Keira do her laundry and…"

"Uh-huh?"

"I had the dryer open and was folding towels…"

"Yeah?"

"And it was just so warm and cozy in there that I… I hadn't been ottsel in a while and I thought…"

Somehow Daxter knew with absolute certainty what was coming next. "And ya thought ya'd go furry an' climb in the dryer, right?"

"I just wanted to make sure I could still do it!" the blonde wailed, covering her face once more. "I was sitting inside matching socks and Keira came in out of the shower and didn't know I was in there!"

"Oh, no…" This wasn't good. Daxter was going to laugh any second; there were no two ways about it. A smack was headed his way at the speed of light if he couldn't control the laugh.

"And then she… she shut the hatch and I was still inside, and she turned on the dryer and couldn't hear me yelling! It was awful, Daxxie! I just kept going around and around with the socks and towels! And now no matter what I do to it I can't keep my hair from frizzing and the tangles just keep coming back and I… Daxter, what's wrong?"

He shook his head violently, both hands clasped over his mouth. There was no way he could hold it back, it was awful but it was just _too_ funny!

"Oh, go ahead, laugh! I shouldn't have been in there anyway. This just proves how much of a dumb blonde I am, furry or not!"

"No yer not, Tessy-baby! Us ottsels are just drawn ta warm, cozy places like that. Dryers, radiators, occupied beds… it's our nature." Consolingly, Daxter tucked a wayward lock of his tearful friend's frizzed hair back beneath her pink headband. He had to get a handle on this catastrophe so Tess could calm down, compliment his new digs, and hear of his latest Jak triumphs. "Cummon, pour us a drink an' lemme tell ya what I did when my fur got like that."

O.O.O.O.O

"So he touched it anyway?" Keira asked in amazement as she readied sandwiches at the counter. "With it sparking and zapping and Vin telling him not to?"

"Well, you know Dax." Jak grinned at the memory, taking a sip of lemonade. "Yeah, he touched it and it's a damn wonder he didn't kill himself. He looked like a piece of popcorn, sparks coming off his goggles and hair all frizzed up… I spent the rest of the night with a damp brush and a dryer sheet trying to get his fur to lay straight."

Laughing aloud at the story, the two friends sat down to lunch at Keira's small table. Jak was pleasantly surprised; things were going exactly how he had pictured them. He couldn't remember the last time that had happened, and it was nice.

"Gosh, that boy…" Keira shook her head fondly at the crazy antics of their impulsive childhood companion. "He'll never change."

"Hmm, I hope not." Ears flicking in contentment at the happy thoughts of Daxter, Jak took a bite of sandwich.

Keira was happy that her friend seemed happy for once. It was good to see him finally bouncing back after the unpleasantness with Erol and Praxis. "So, Jak, what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked casually.

A large lump of bread, cold cuts, and all the trimmings lodged firmly in the back of the racer's throat. Grabbing for his glass of lemonade, he managed to choke it all down. "What?"

"You know, you said you wanted to talk to me about something. What's on your mind, Jak?"

"Um." Images of Daxter flushed, panting and squirming were foremost on the list. Blushing slightly, the green-blonde cleared his throat and gave Keira his most earnest look. "See, Keira, it's like this. Uh, I mean, this isn't about _me_, you know, but I've got this _friend_…"

O.O.O.O.O

"They really are wonderful clothes, Daxxie."

At the bar, hair emergency put to rest with water and dryer sheets, Daxter and Tess were able to relax. Smiling smugly at the well deserved compliments, Daxter related the tale of how said clothing was acquired.

"Yeah, ain't they great? Ya shoulda seen it, boss-lady Rayn got on the phone an' an hour later they had me all suited up, in my size even!" The redhead neglected to tell his favorite girl, however, that the outfit was in reality a woman's size that had been quickly altered to fit his flat chest. What Tess didn't know about his skinny-ass measurements wouldn't embarrass the heck out of him, after all.

"She sure knows how to get things done," Tess agreed. "But enough about Rayn. In the spirit of accomplishing things…" She leaned forward conspiratorially and somewhat mischievously. "Tell me how things went with Jak! Did you make any progress?"

"Huh?" Startled by the abrupt topic change, it took Daxter a second to process what she was asking. A moment later, though, a bucktoothed smirk slipped into place. "Oh, yeah! Well, Tessy, let's just say I'm now able ta view Jakkie-boy in a whole different light."

"Ooh," she squealed, "tell me, tell me!"

"Well fer starters, somehow he managed ta mess around an' get fine behind my back. I just thought like somebody admirin' a paintin' an' bam! It hit me. But that's just 'cause it's Jak, ya know, an' I already love 'im like crazy." Daxter took a moment to be proud of himself. "See, I can say that now, too."

"Sweetie, that's fantastic!" Tess gushed. "You're well on your way to any kind of relationship you want!"

Grinning hugely, the redhead buffed his nails against the new jacket. "Yep, I figure I can pull just about anythin' whenever I feel like it an' he won't make a peep. Apparently it's a hidden talent, but come ta find out I'm actually a lean, mean, Jak-seducin' machine, baby!"

"Congratulations," Tess murmured, blushing slightly as he filled her in on some of the more interesting details.

"Yeah," Daxter sighed proudly, cracking his knuckles, "I got the big guy wrapped around my little finger, an' pretty soon we're gonna have some serious fun!" He shot her a sly smirk. "Too bad, Tessy-kins, ya coulda joined us if ya hadn't drifted inta Jinx-infested waters."

Smiling serenely, she upended a glass of ice water in the lap of his new pants. "Oopsie."

"Hey, _cold!!_" Daxter jumped and whined miserably, trying in vain to brush off the freezing moisture. "What'd I say?"

"I think you know."

"Cummon, Tessy, I'm only worried fer yer health! The guy's prob'ly got gonorr-herpe-syphil-AIDS, or somethin'…"

"Daxter!"

The redhead had to grin despite it all. He loved it when Tess got so riled up that she obviously didn't know whether to laugh or smack him or what. Jak did the same thing, and he loved that, too. Hmm, yeah… Jak all huffy with his fists on his hips, hovering between laughing and a pissy fit was a nice, nice image.

"Can we leave Jinxy _out_ of the conversation?" Tess asked pointedly, a light blush on her pretty face as she wiped imaginary dust off the countertop. "And for your information, what you're planning to do to Jak is pretty risky in the STD department itself so I'd think twice before throwing insults around, mister!"

Daxter blinked. "Wadda'ya mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I dunno, what?!"

"Daxxie, I'm confused."

"I mean wadda'ya mean what I'm plannin' ta do ta Jak?!" the redhead finally yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration. "I'm not gonna do anythin' ta him, alright, just… ya know… the normal stuff."

Tess quirked a curious eyebrow.

"Ya know, the normal stuff that… people do when they… uh… when they…" Oh, boy. Daxter's ears slowly drooped, his face falling into a confused and somewhat concerned pout. One finger lightly tapped his chin. "Uh… I guess."

Arms folded over bountiful bosoms, the blonde smiled sweetly. "You have no idea what to do with another man, do you?"

"Well geeze, Tessy, I wasn't worried 'bout that before now!" Daxter wailed, dropping his slightly warm face into gloved hands. "Hell no I got no idea what ta do with a guy! Ya think I actually thought that far ahead?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Ha, ha. Yer killin' me, sweetheart." The redhead was not amused. "Look, I'll figure it out. Ya shove tab A inta slot B, I got a feelin' it won't be that hard ta pick up."

"I really do think you should find someone to ask about this, sweetie," Tess hinted strongly. "I may not be a man, and I may not swing that way, but I do know that if you go into this and don't know what you're doing one of you is probably going to get hurt. You don't want that, do you?"

Unconsciously Daxter dropped a hand to pat thoughtfully at the seat of his racing pants. She had a point. But who in the world would he ever ask? He had to find out somehow. Odds were a million to one that Jak knew any more on the subject than he did, and the redhead suspected they wouldn't get very far if neither of them had a clue.

It seemed there was yet more effort that needed to be applied to the Jak + Daxter Love equation. Oh yeah, Jak owed him big time.

"Grr, sex _ain't_ supposed ta be this complicated, dammit! Tessy, ya know anybody who might know?"

She considered for a moment. "Hmm… Oh, what about the Shadow? He's very smart. I'm sure he knows plenty of things we'd never even guess at."

Daxter shuddered. A question like _that_ would go over well. NOT. "Pass."

"Alright, what about your friend Pecker? Maybe he could ask Onin to—"

"Pass!"

"Okay then… Don't worry, Daxxie, we'll figure this out together! I know, why don't you just ask the Precursors? They're all-knowing, aren't they?"

The redhead perked at the suggestion. "Hey, yeah! I'm sure my fellow fur-balls wouldn't leave their ol' pal Orange Lightning hangin'!"

O.o.O.o.O

Somewhere far away, inside the Precursor ship…

Three furry deities stood slack jawed around the swirling portal that permitted them visions of the outside world and was, at that moment, trained on the Naughty Ottsel Saloon. For a long moment none spoke, but finally the silence was broken as a tall, surfer-slanged ottsel slowly cleared his throat.

"Dude… I'm not touchin' this one, man."

"Agreed." The portly ottsel Precursor solemnly snapped the portal closed. "Anyone for gin rummy?"

O.o.O.o.O

Back at the bar…

A distraught redhead moaned, dropping his face into his arms. "Great. _Now_ what am I supposed ta do…?"

O.O.O.O.O

To be continued…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: I know, I know… it's a crummy place to stop. But it was least crummy of all the other places I could have stopped. Don't worry, though. Lucky for you, me, and Jak, Dax never has known when to quit. I'll jump on the next chapter right away. I'm also well aware that the summer is swiftly waning, and the looming threat of college again eating away most of my writing time approaches… (flogs self to write faster)

By the by… I've gone and done it. The blooper scenes from chapter five were so popular I've decided to make them a semi-permanent part of the rest of the fic. Sort of as an outlet for the Flaming Humor, as it were. There's even more of them this time. And again, they're completely random and completely stupid, but could easily have made it into the real fic had I not been forced to use my better judgment. Enjoy.

O.O.O.O.O

Light Jak Shoulder Angel: I'm very disappointed in you, Mister.

Jak: (hangs head) I know.

Dark Jak Shoulder Devil: Oh, come on. The carrot top was practically _begging_ for it! You just gave him what he wanted.

Light Jak: That's not true and you know it. Don't distort things!

Dark Jak: Na-nah! (sticks out tongue)

Jak: Uh…

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Heya, Samos! Hey, listen, ya think ya could do little Daxter a favor an' give me a few pointers on doin' the deed with yer adopted kid, champion racer an' three-time savior of the world?

Samos: (twitch) Stay away from my boy, dirty heathen child!

Daxter: (is bludgeoned with stick) Ouch… ((bleed))

O.O.O.O.O

Dark Jak: Seriously, you've got to get in touch with your inner beast.

Light Jak: Ignore him, Jak.

Dark Jak: You're an animal! If you want something, you'll damn well reach out and—(humping motions)—take it! A-wooo! Bow-chicka-bow-wow!

Jak: ((blush))

Light Jak: (covers face) This is not even right…

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Pecker, I'll give ya a banana if ya get Onin ta tell me how ta have butt sex with Jak.

Pecker: Ah, the forbidden bond of love between a hero and his pet rat. I shed a tear for your romantic, yet ill-fated, destiny. (pause) And now I laugh at you for it. Ha!

Daxter: I hate you.

O.O.O.O.O

Dark Jak: Come on, Killer, let's hear your best beast noise. Gimme a growl, a howl, anything!

Jak: Uh… meow?

Dark Jak: Well, I was going for horn dog over sex kitten, but I guess if that's your thing...

Light Jak: (bashes head on wall) I quit.

O.O.O.O.O

Fat Precursor: I'm telling you there are no love scenes in the Prophesy, homosexual or otherwise! Quite frankly I'm very disturbed by this.

Surfer Precursor: Yeah right, dude. I bet you're the one who wrote it all out, pervert.

Fat Precursor: I did not!

Surfer Precursor: Sure, man, sure.

Fat Precursor: I didn't!

Stupid Precursor: Uh… if Daxter likes Jak, why'd we make the pretty lady furry, again?

Ottsel Tess: (taps foot) Good question.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak: Okay guys, I'm screwed up in the head enough already. Get lost.

Light Jak: Alright, Jak. Just remember, we're here for you when you need—eeek!

Dark Jak: (jumps Light) Go get 'im, Tiger. Show no mercy!

Light Jak: Help meeee!!

Dark Jak: ((evil chuckle)) Grr, baby.

Jak: I SO need therapy…


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Alright everyone, I'm sorry the chapter is way late. My laptop crashed hard, rather like an unfortunate run on Jak X with a drunken crocadog behind the wheel. Also school sucks yakcow. Ah, well. Life goes on. Here is chapter seven, and thank you for being so patient!

Oh… and to all those of you who are timid about reviewing, I still see you over there adding this to your alerts and favorites and such. Don't be shy! I like to know _why_ you put an alert or a favorite mark on this, what you liked or didn't like and why you liked or didn't like it. And I don't bite. I nip playfully, but I don't bite. So don't be afraid to review sometime!

**Disclaimer:** Trust me; I'll let you know if I ever get the rights. Until then, no ownie, no profitie. On with the fic!

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jak was sweating bullets. Big, cold, unsettling bullets that were probably very obvious to the person sitting directly opposite him at the rickety wooden table. He held up what was left of his sandwich in a halfhearted attempt to erect some sort of barrier between himself and his source of nervousness. "Sorry, Keira, what did you say?"

"You heard me, Jak," she laughed. "Stop avoiding the question. I asked you who it is you're in love with, and don't give me any of this 'asking advice for my friend' garbage. Tell me! I can keep a secret."

_Trust me, you don't want in on __this__ one_, Jak thought, desperately stalling. Why, oh _why_ had he thought he would be able to fool her? He should have known she would see right through his second-grade ploy.

He wanted to tell her, though. He wanted to tell her so badly it was maddening. However, he did not want her to scream, or slap him, or both. Most of all he did not want her to hare off and find Daxter, and tell the redhead that he needed to move out as soon as possible to protect his virtue. "Um…"

"Come on, Jak! Don't you _trust_ me?" Oh, no, there went the earnestly pleading puppy eyes. How many times during their childhood had those teary blue-green orbs managed to change his mind about something?

"Of course I trust you. It's just that—"

"You're embarrassed, I know. Oh, wait, how about if I guess who it is and you tell me whether or not I'm right? Hey, this'll be _fun!_"

"Keira, listen," the racer demanded. She stopped still, looking at him much more seriously. "You cannot tell anyone about this, alright? No one. Not Tess, not your father, not even Daxter." Most especially not Daxter… "_No one_. Okay?"

"Okay. I promise." The mechanic nodded solemnly. It was rare for something to truly upset Jak, and anything that did immediately ceased to be anything to giggle about. "Should I start guessing now?"

Jak drew a deep breath, then heaved a sigh. "Go ahead, I guess."

In a way it was a huge relief. The time had finally come when he could share with someone what was constantly bothering him, when he might possibly find an ally with whom he might confide about this confounding topic. But, then again, he might also be about to thoroughly disgust his second-best friend. Once not so long ago he wouldn't have minded so much, but now that he'd forgiven her for the whole Erol thing the latter possibility held no appeal whatsoever.

"Alright." Keira cocked her head to one side, thinking hard. "Is it a girl I know?"

"Er… yeah, you've met." _Frequently._

"Have you known her long?"

"Yes." _Does 'pretty much my whole life' count?_

"Is she pretty?"

"Uh… I guess?" _Not really… but then, most guys aren't._

"I see." The mechanic thoughtfully tapped the side of her lemonade glass with her fork. "Hmm… Is it Rayn?"

"No."

"Tess?"

"No. Apparently she's gone to the sleazy side."

Keira grimaced. "I saw her and Jinx leaving the bar together the other day but she hasn't told me anything about it yet. Creee-py. Anyway… Oh, I know! It's Ashelin, isn't it Jak?! She kissed you once, didn't she?"

Jak shook his head, green and gold strands swirling slightly as he did so. "No, Ashelin is with Torn. I think that kiss was just a fluke."

She huffed in frustration. "Well then, Jak, give me something I can work with! So… you've known her for a while, I've met her before, and she isn't Ashelin. Okay, does she at least have red hair like Ashelin?"

Jak froze.

"No, wait, I don't know any other women with red hair. This is hard," Keira mused.

The tension was unbearable. Forget unburdening himself, Jak had to get out of there. Abruptly he surged to his feet. "Keira, I gotta go."

"Huh? But you just got here!" she protested, startled. "I had dessert and coffee planned if you'll wait just a minute…"

"Sorry, I can't. Thanks for the food, thanks for the talk, dessert next time—bye." Pulling his flabbergasted friend into a quick but contrite hug, Jak split the scene as fast as he was able without actually running. He_ would_ stop running from things, he vowed silently. Power walking from them, however, was still highly acceptable.

O.o.O.o.O

Keira stood gazing after him for a long moment before finally turning her attention to the dirty dishes from the lunch. Stacking up the plates and cups, she began to whistle cheerfully. "Well… he's still paranoid, but at least now I'm sure it's not me he's in love with."

She was a modern, high-tech girl in a fast-paced world—for the moment, at least, tinkering with zoomers and running maintenance on racing vehicles held far more appeal than a steady date.

O.o.O.o.O

Safely removed from the severely strained situation, Jak made his way slowly back to the bar on foot. Damn. He needed to break down and just buy the silly zoomer from Keira, and save himself a lot of heat, dust, and tired feet. She would probably let it go; she could always make another.

_I wonder what Dax would think if I did that. Not that he ever has to walk anywhere anyway…_

The racer suddenly paused, then sighed. It always came back to Daxter. He'd been away from the little loudmouth for less than an hour and already his fingers were itching to run through that soft, pumpkin-colored fur.

Shoving his hands into his pockets where they could occupy themselves with tangible fabric rather than thoughts of fur, Jak continued on at a slightly brisker pace. _I really need to stop doing that, anyway._ Randomly petting people, even your best friends, was rude.

O.O.O.O.O

Meanwhile, back at the Naughty Ottsel, Daxter and Tess were no closer to a satisfactory solution to the most recent dilemma.

"An' I was feelin' so good today, too…" the redhead sighed melodramatically, chin resting on the bar. For lack of anything else to mess with he was absently nibbling at a pretzel from the bowl Tess had set out. They were a little stale, but that didn't deter his bored chewing.

"Well, maybe I should have waited until you backed Jak into a corner and realized you didn't know what to do with him before I brought it up?" the blonde asked pointedly. Daxter wisely let it go.

"Not that I'm not grateful to ya fer pointin' out my lack of info, Tessy-babe, but it don't help much if we still can't figure it out! I draw the line at strollin' down the block askin' random strangers."

"No, that probably qualifies as sexual harassment," Tess agreed. "We really only need someone who knows what they're talking about who would just sit down and tell you what to do. And, preferably, who would then keep their mouth shut about it."

"Yeah, I like that last one." The last thing Daxter wanted was for this mess to get blown out of proportion. If Jak ever suspected that anyone knew about their budding… _thing_… the racer would blow a gasket.

"Look on the bright side, Daxxie," Tess said positively, reaching out to smooth his ruffled hair. "At least things can't get any worse."

All at once the back door flew open with a bang and a jangle. "Hellooo, beautiful! Jinxy's here!"

"Can't get worse, huh?" Ears laid back as far as they were able, Daxter directed a withering glare toward the mirror behind the bar as his second most annoying nemesis loudly entered the saloon. Coming in just behind Pecker and just before Samos, the dirty blonde bomb expert was pretty much the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

Completely ignoring the redhead, Jinx made a beeline for the buxom bartender. "Hey there, sugar! Howza'bout a little kiss fer a hot, tired, hard-workin' guy?"

Tess's immediate squeals and giggles literally made Daxter's teeth grind. Funny, he'd never thought them the least bit annoying when they were directed at Orange Lightning… Pointedly the redhead turned his attention elsewhere. At least the cobwebs in the corner had the decency to not make out in public(ish). "Aw, go get a room!"

For the first time since his entrance, Jinx seemed to take notice that Tess had not been alone. "Well, hey. Didn't see ya there, pal. Come ta think of it, I haven't ever seen ya 'round here before. I think I'da remembered a head like that!"

Hackles that Daxter didn't even possess at that particular moment threatened to rise as Jinx dropped a heavy, dusty hand on top of his head and insolently ruffled his bright red hair. "Don't… touch me."

"Whoa there, little guy, don't get upset." Chuckling at Dax's obvious agitation, the bomber materialized a smoke from one of the many pockets on his bandolier and casually lit up. "I was just playin' with ya. So, uh, you got a name? Or can I call ya Bucky?"

Tess had to literally throw herself across the bar. Feet barely touching the floor behind the counter she frantically tried to restrain the furious redhead, gripping double handfuls of his new jacket as he lunged for the scruffy figure who dared insult his teeth.

"_BUCKY?!_ Why you slimy, greasy, good-fer-nothin'—lemme go, Tess! I swear I oughta—!!" Now that he was big enough to do it laying a fist in Jinx's stubbly mug seemed like a fantastic idea, if only Tess would quit hanging on him.

"Daxxie, please, settle down!"

Jinx whistled innocently, blowing a puff of smoke in Daxter's general direction before turning once again to Tess. "Hey, darlin'? You haven't seen the Jakmiester today have ya? For some weird reason I just get the feelin' the pretty boy should be 'round here somewhere…"

Daxter was seeing red. How dare he? How _dare_ this skuzzy slime ball look at _his_ Jak like that? It was bad enough that Jinx had poached Tess away, but be damned if he would ever get near Dax's best buddy! "Hey, hey, hey! Don't you ever let me catch ya callin' him that, yer not even _close_ ta good enough!"

"Simmer down, little man! What's it to ya, anyway?" Planting a palm firmly on the irate redhead's face, the bomber casually held Daxter and his swinging fists at bay. "I swear, Tessy, these racers are all nuts, every one of 'em. Ya know, just the other day I ran into that Razer fella. Talk about weird… that guy prob'ly gets more ass than a toilet seat!"

Somehow, the words struck a chord. Daxter abruptly stopped struggling, shoving Jinx's hand out of his face. "…say that again."

Obviously enjoying the fact that he was rankling Dax, the dirty-blonde grinned wider and took another deep drag of his smoke. "I just said I think the guy's prob'ly queer as they come. Now I ain't sayin' that's a _bad _thing, ya know, but it's… hey, where ya goin'?"

"Hot damn, that's it!" Dismissing Jinx from his immediate thought processes, Daxter started for the door, much happier and with a new spring in his step. "Well kids, I'm gone. Don't have too much fun, ya hear?"

Tess was immediately alarmed. "Wait, sweetie, you're not really going to ask _Razer_, of all people—!"

"Laters!" With a cheerful wave the redhead zipped around the corner and out the back door. It seemed the tides of fortune were once more turning in his favor, whether or not his fat, fuzzy compadre in the Precursor corner had anything to do with it. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get to Kras City and back without his constant companion knowing about it…

O.O.O.O.O

Jak's mood had not improved by the time he reached the bar. The relief of nearly opening up and getting his problem out in the open had once more been replaced by gloom. That feeling immediately vanished, though, when the door of the Naughty Ottsel burst open and Daxter literally fell down the steps into his arms.

"Heya, Jakkie-boy!" he chirped brightly, a wide grin plastered on his face. "What's shakin'?"

Smiling himself on the inside, Jak made a great show of looking up at the sky. "Nothing, other than I think it's raining redheads. You better watch where your feet are going or you're gonna kill yourself one of these days."

"Sure, sure," was the absent reply.

"What are you so happy about?" Jak wondered.

His friend didn't look drunk. In fact, and this was a real rarity, he couldn't smell any booze on him at all. Finding that he was leaning forward unconsciously, Jak had to forcibly stop himself from pulling Daxter closer and inhaling deeply right next to his ear. Not only would Dax probably squeal and smack him for tickling, but a gesture like that was _way_ too intimate. Distance, distance was the key that would keep him sane.

"Here, pal, take a look around." Almost giddily, Dax grabbed Jak by the goatee and directed his face in all sorts of interesting directions. Jak, used to the maneuver, put up with it.

"And…?"

"What do ya not see?"

"Uh… a lot of things, I guess…"

"Bzzzt, _wrong!_" the redhead laughed. "Ya don't see a greasy, babe-stealin' arsonist anywhere out here, an' that itself is clearly more than enough reason fer celebration, wouldn't ya say?"

Jak swore. "_Jinx_ was in there? He didn't recognize you, did he?"

"Nah, don't sweat it. He knew that he knew me, but he didn't know, know what I mean? He asked Tessy if ya were around anywhere but he couldn't get why he thought ya should be. So he kinda got that he's seen us together but he didn't recognize me as me lookin' like this, ya dig?"

Jak huffed. Somehow it didn't surprise him that the bomber's subconscious was smarter than he was. "Well, that's fine I guess. Come on, let's get back to the house before someone smarter than Jinx _does_ realize who you are."

"Just tell 'em I'm an old buddy from out'a town. They'll buy it."

"I'd rather not. We'd have to call you something different."

"Ya could say we're such great pals ya named yer pet after me."

They kicked around ideas all the way home, for once walking side by side. Some of Daxter's were so outrageous that the racer had to laugh.

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Daxter finally announced as they arrived, springing lightly up the front steps. "Yer ottsel got splattered by a dirt huggin' zoomer an' ya were so distraught over it that ya had ta start callin' yer long-lost buddy by his name. See, then I can walk human without fear."

"Yeah," Jak chuckled, "and if you fake killing off Orange Lightning you'd never be able to walk ottsel in public again. You don't want that, right?"

"Neh, I guess not. I'm kinda attached ta my tail. It follows me everywhere, ya know. Hey, make fruit salad fer dinner!"

For the rest of the evening Jak was continually amused by his friend's good mood, even if it did result in them spitting watermelon seeds at each other for a full ten minutes and having a mad dish towel snapping fight in the middle of the kitchen. Whatever the reason for it, Daxter's happiness seemed contagious. Jak drew the line, however, at the obnoxious little redhead slipping into the bathroom while he was showering and dumping a pitcher of ice water over the top of the bath curtain.

"Damn it, Dax, enough is enough!" The hysterical, rapidly retreating laughter just begged him to rise to the bait and play chase, but he wasn't going to budge this time. Another round of uncomfortable situations in bath towels was not on his agenda that evening.

"Eh, yer no fun."

Jak smiled smugly as he rinsed the last vestiges of shampoo and cold water out of his hair. Of course Dax didn't expect him to be the mature one and let it go. However, the sudden pensive silence on the other side of the door was also unexpected. He wondered at it, shaking suds from his ears and stroking conditioner into green-blonde locks. "Dax…?"

"Hey Jak, listen, if yer busy I think I'm gonna slip out fer a while, okay?"

Jak's hand closed convulsively around the bottle of conditioner and it shot out of his grip, clattering loudly as it fell to the bottom of the tub. "What?!"

"I said I'm goin' out fer a while."

"You're leaving? By yourself?" For reasons unknown even to himself Jak was near panic at the idea, rushing to rinse the goop out of his hair and already groping outside the curtain for a towel. "Dax, wait, I'll go with you!"

Through his alarm he could hear the redhead laughing. "Ya can't baby-sit me forever, pal. Don't worry; I won't be gone too long."

"Daxter!"

He was too late, though. By the time he had hastily thrown the towel around himself and wrestled the bathroom door open to rush out, still dripping, Daxter was gone. Jak hurried to the front door to catch him as he went down the street, but strangely there was no sign of the redhead.

_He must've been walking pretty fast…_ Jak mused.

Suddenly realizing how silly he must look standing in the door in a wet towel, he forcibly stifled his worry and ducked back inside. He wouldn't stoop to making a scene and chasing his fully grown and capable best friend down the road so he could hold his hand and keep him out of trouble. All he could do now was hope to Mar there wouldn't _be_ any trouble for Dax to get into, wherever he was going.

Not that that scenario was particularly likely…

O.O.O.O.O

Night was falling over Kras City. In a rather stylish room adjacent to one of the bigger garages in a nicer part of town, the most suave racer around was busy. He was not busy hatching diabolical schemes against Jak and his entire sphere of influence, however. Tonight Razer was occupied… making himself dinner.

Whipping off his apron, Razer surveyed the dinner tray loaded with his handiwork: soup and a light salad, a gently toasted cheese and tomato sandwich, and a small glass of perfectly aged wine. "Hmm. Something eez missing..."

Glancing around the small kitchen, his eyes alighted upon the bright floral arrangement he had earlier received from a group of female fans. Plucking off a tiny bloom he placed it with great care at the rim of the wine glass with a triumphant kiss of his fingertips.

"Mm-wah! Perfect! Now, to relax and watch mah favorite program."

Carefully balancing the tray, Razer made his way to the large, expensively upholstered armchair in the next room. He was just settling in, tying a napkin around his neck and reaching for the remote, when a crash of epic proportions echoed from the garage.

Swearing under his breath, the racer shoved the tray out of his way and lunged to his feet. Throwing down his napkin he stormed to the door and slammed it open, flipping on the bright florescent lights with a snarl. "Damned raccoons, stay out of mah garage! …what in zee 'ell?"

O.o.O.o.O

Daxter tried and failed to struggle upright, hampered by the tire around his shoulders. His smooth yet showy Precursor entrance had not gone quite the way he had wanted it to.

Finally throwing off the encumbering circle of rubber the redhead tossed it back onto the pile he had fallen headfirst into, in the process nearly slipping on the large expanse of slick automotive paint he'd accidentally spilled when he'd crashed into a stack of shelving.

_Guess I'll hav'ta work on this a little… this Precursor crap is harder than it looks._

"…what in zee 'ell?"

The confused, amazed, and yet still somewhat indignant exclamation made Daxter jump as the lights flashed on. Slowly he turned to face the dumbfounded racer he hoped would soon lead him to enlightenment, brushing dust and grease off his clothes. _Just play it cool, Daxxie-baby, play it cool… it'll all be worth it in the end…_

"Ah… hey, Razer! What up, buddy? Hope I'm not, uh, interruptin' anythin'…"

"…who are you and how in zee name of daytime soaps did you get in here?"

Nonchalantly Daxter brushed by the thoroughly disgruntled gang member and made his way into the living quarters. "Consider me a friend in need, pal. Hey, is that a grilled cheese? Don't mind if I do…"

"Get out of mah house right now!" Razer was obviously taken aback and obviously hated it. "Put down mah sandwich, you rude leetle twit! Ah have a gun, you know."

Somehow Daxter didn't doubt it. He probably would have been shot already had Razer seen him as a threat rather than a mere unexpected annoyance. As it was, half the sandwich in his mouth, the redhead appeared roughly as threatening as a tulip. "Great grilled cheese, here. Make it yerself?"

Razer was rapidly turning a fetching shade of deep crimson. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his housecoat he jammed one in the corner of his mouth and lit up, puffing madly away at it while spastically tapping one slippered foot. "Yes… yes Ah did. Would you care to step outside so zat Ah might run you ovah with mah car?"

"Nah, no thanks. This chair's pretty comfy, now that ya mention it. So, Razer…" He searched desperately for small talk that might break the ice and melt through the freezing waves of glaciosity being sent his way from the annoyed racer. "With an accent like that, where ya from, anyway? Ya a Frenchman, German maybe?"

Razer puffed harder than ever at the cigarette, an unreadable expression on his face. "Ah'm from a leetle nation called Go-Fuck-Yourself, you annoying twit! Now for zee last time, get lost!"

"Wha?!" Daxter's eyes bulged, his mouth gaping in astonishment. Then he grinned. Scathing sarcasm; now_ that_ he understood. Happily he licked the last of the grease from the sandwich off his fingers. The soup looked good, too. "Damn. Ya know, Razer, given time… a long time… I think I could get ta like ya."

"Why are you here, peasant?" the racer demanded on a hiss, forcefully stabbing out the cigarette butt on the countertop as Daxter moved in on another course of his dinner. "Why do you come here, to mah garage, in zee middle of zee night, and why can Ah not be rid of you? And why zee 'ell are you eating mah food?!"

"Uh… well, see, yeah, that's a story right there," the redhead began, suddenly nervous. He hadn't exactly thought about how he was going to phrase the questions he desperately needed answered. "I guess I kinda need a favor."

"Ah don't even know you! Why should Ah do anything for you other than arrange you a nice ride to prison for breaking and entering?"

"'Cause I only need ya ta answer a couple'a questions fer me, then I'll be a good boy an' disappear." Dax smiled charmingly. "An' if ya don't, I hang around 'til I drive ya insane. Yer choice."

"Quite frankly mah choice would be to waste you here and now if that wouldn't be considered exceptionally rude."

"So then will ya talk ta me?"

"And Ah say yet again, Ah do not even know who you are!" Razer ripped another cigarette from the pack, looking at once disbelieving and annoyed as hell. "All Ah ask from life eez zee weekends off, a leetle time to tinker with mah car and watch mah shows without zat idiot Mizo in mah face, eez zat so much to ask? Now Ah have crazy redheaded persons sabotaging mah home in zee night, what zee 'ell else can happen?"

"Uh, the crazy redhead could ask ya if yer gay." Dax spit it out in a rush around the lip of the soup bowl. It was now, while there was an opening, or never. "An' he might need some info about that subject, if ya know what I'm sayin'…"

Razer stood dead silent, regarding Daxter while the second cigarette burned itself down between his fingers. Finally the racer laughed, stubbing out the butt and rubbing a hand over his suddenly serene face. "Alright, Ah know what zis eez. Ah'm asleep in mah chair and zis eez all a horrible nightmare zat will go away as soon as Ah wake up."

"No, no, no!" Taking a turn at being frustrated, Dax left the soup and jumped out of the armchair. "Seriously, I'm not kiddin' here! How'm I supposed'ta bang Jak if no one'll tell me how?!"

Another silence. Slowly, Razer arched a smooth brow. "Bang… Jak, eh?"

_Crap! _Dax slapped a hand over his mouth, mad at himself and his quick tongue that liked to blurt things out before his brain caught up with it. _Wasn't supposed'ta say that…_

"Now Ah know Ah'm dreaming. A scrawny brat incarnation of dear Jak's pet rat wants to know how to screw him." Smiling whimsically, Razer pulled forth cigarette number three. "Oh well. At least zee darling boy has finally found himself a lover. Ah was beginning to think zat something was wrong with him." Flicking his lighter absently the racer stared off into space, then suddenly began to laugh loudly. "Damn! What does zis say about zee state of mah subconscious? Ah must be going crazy!"

"Oh, shut up!" Completely disregarding the fact that Razer had inadvertently pieced together the mystery of his identity, Daxter grabbed the television remote off the arm of the chair and pitched it at the laughing racer's head. "See if I ever ask fer yer help again, ya ass!"

"Ouch! Why you evil leetle bastard…"

"Yeah, ya like that? Huh? Ya like that, jerk? Who's laughin' now, huh?!"

Razer rubbed sorely at his jaw, staring at the ranting redhead with a calculating eye. "Per'aps Ah'm not as asleep as Ah thought… Oh, what does it matter? You certainly have no idea how to ask for favors, anyway. Somehow Ah cannot picture darling Jak with such a… how shall Ah put zis…? Such a _blunt_ boy as yourself."

"Well start picturin' bub, 'cause Jak's my best buddy an' he likes me like I am!" Daxter huffed, willing the blush off his face and ears. How dare the snotty gang member insult _his _personality? At least he didn't talk like some fancy big shot and patronize the racing opposition while trying to poison the hell out of them…

"Then you are in fact Jak's rat, are you not?" Razer seemed to have gathered himself back together. He was puffing calmly at the cigarette again.

"Heh, wouldn't you like ta know."

"Yes, definitely zee rat." Satisfied, the suave racer blew a smoke ring at the ceiling. "Same bad attitude. Listen, boy. Ah don't care whether or not Ah am dreaming at zis point, or who you are, or what leetle animals you choose to look like in your spare time. But let us get one thing straight. Ah help no one for free."

Daxter had been prepared for that. "I figured. Well, then, what can I do ya for? I don't exactly have any money or anythin'…"

A smirk that Dax wasn't quite sure he liked slowly spread across Razer's face. "Oh, don't worry, my noisy leetle friend, I'm sure we can work _something_ out…"

O.O.O.O.O

Jak sighed for the umpteenth time that evening, rolling over listlessly and almost tumbling off the old couch he was camped upon. He had never thought the old sofa particularly comfortable, but now it was positively unbearable.

Daxter had left. He had actually gone out and left Jak all alone, and the truth was finally starting to hit home. As the minutes and hours the redhead was gone ticked slowly by, Jak began to mope.

How often had he dreamed of nights like this? His best friend human once more, no missions or races to occupy their time, and Daxter able to go out and really have fun… with him. With Jak. _Together._ Truly the Demolition Duo again, once more of like species and still inseparable. The idea that Dax might actually want to anything _without_ him was one Jak had never entertained.

_Come on, get over it,_ the green-blonde tried to tell himself, face buried sulkily in the rough upholstery. _It's not like we're kids anymore. It's not like we've got to be together __constantly.__ It's fine if Dax wants some alone time. That doesn't mean he doesn't care about you any more, idiot._

It sure felt like it, though.

_Where was he going that he didn't want me with him? Where did he have to be in such a hurry he couldn't wait five minutes for me? I could've been ready in five! Huh. He's probably forgiven Tess and gone back to the bar to drool all over her…_

…Tess who Jinx had drooled all over.

…Jinx drool all over Dax.

Forcefully Jak shoved himself off the sofa. For a split second he considered a foray to the Naughty Ottsel, but almost immediately let it go. He could not, _would_ not butt in on Dax's personal affairs uninvited.

The decision depressed him so much that for another split second Jak considered calling Torn, just to talk. That notion was also immediately discarded. Odds were if Torn picked up at all there would be nothing but two sets of heavy breathing on the other end for Jak to talk to. There was no way Ashelin wouldn't be wherever Torn was on a free night.

With a groan the racer headed for the bathroom and his toothbrush therein. No reason now why he shouldn't just go to bed. Anyway, sleeping was better than lying around on that damn lumpy sofa wondering what Daxter was doing without him and whether or not he wished Jak was there. However, the green-blonde couldn't help but be a little resentful as he ferociously brushed away at his pearly whites.

Daxter had Tess, or at least a share in Tess. Torn and Ashelin had each other. Keira had her inventions and Vin had his experiments and Sig had… well, Jak wasn't sure what Sig had but the point was what did _Jak_ have? A big fat _nothing_, that's what Jak had. He had finally lived to see Daxter human again, his fondest wish (well, one of two of his fondest wishes), and what did he have to show for it? No longer even a loyal ottsel companion to warm his shoulder and laugh quietly in his ear.

Sighing deeply, Jak switched off the lamp and fell into bed. Screw waiting up for Daxter, he knew the way home.

"I am _so_ getting a crocadog…"

O.O.O.O.O

"Ah!" Daxter gasped sharply, throwing back his head and arching his back. "_Stop!_ I told ya not ta touch that!"

"Ah wanted to see if it eez still leaking."

"Well knock it off, it's drippin' right in my freakin' eye! Ya can turn the water back on when I say!"

The redhead was not the happiest of campers. On his back under Razer's kitchen sink he worked diligently, wrench in hand, as the posh racer looked on and occasionally twisted the tap against Daxter's direct orders. The resultant dripping had gone so far as to force Dax to put his goggles over his eyes, the first time he had done so since before he could remember.

"I don't remember signin' up ta be no handyman. Swear ta Mar, I'm gonna have Jak run yer ass over next time we race, nancy-boy..."

Razer smiled lewdly, sucking lazily on another cig. Dax had lost count of what number it was. "Yes, well. Anything involving Jak and ass, mine or his, will surely be fine with me."

The redhead growled as another drop of water landed on the bridge of his goggles. "Watch it, pal. Soon as ya tell me what I wanna know that ass'll be off limits fer the rest'a his natural life an' then some."

The racer chuckled. "Forgive me if Ah'm mistaken, dear boy, but it almost seems to me as if you think zat you will be zee one, er, on_ top_ in zis relationship."

"And what if?"

"In zat case Ah am very sorry to be zee one to tell you so, but Ah'm terribly afraid zat it isn't possible."

"And why ain't it possible, might I ask?" Under the sink, Dax gave a rusty joint a particularly hard knock with the wrench. "Best buddy intuition tells me Jak ain't gonna know crap. That means I lead, right?"

"Wrong." Somehow, Razer managed to casually blow smoke down into Dax's airspace. "Zee law of relationships of men with men clearly states zat zee stronger, taller, more muscular, or otherwise manlier man shall be on top."

"Like hell!"

"Sorry, zat's just zee way it eez."

Abruptly, Daxter slammed down the wrench and stood up, pulling his goggles back into their customary place of honor atop his mess of fiery hair. "Listen. Yer sink's fixed. Yer house is dusted, yer carpet's clean an' I changed the bulb in the fridge. I did my part'a the deal, now cough up the info! How, _exactly,_ do I go about givin' Jakkie-boy the business?"

Razer quirked a brow thoughtfully. "You say you are done?"

"Yeah. Now I need the mechanics. The how-to. The fly-by, the overview, ya diggin' me here?"

"You're completely finished?"

"Yes! I need details, and don't give me no more'a that 'buff-guy-runs-the-show' crap. I don't really need ta hear about yer sick fantasies." Fists perched on lean hips, Daxter waited expectantly… only to be forcibly hurled out the front door moments later.

"Thank you for zee lovely maid service, dear Daxter. I wish you and darling Jak zee best together. Please, stop by any time… any time zat Ah am not at home."

"Hey, wait!" Scrambling to his feet, Dax glared sorely at the door that had been shut in his face. "You ass, we had a deal! Get back out here, jerk-off, ya didn't tell me _anything!_ I swear ta the Precursors, I'm not leavin' until I get what I came for—!"

Ranting and raving, the redhead unfortunately did not notice the door opening again until something came flying out of it. A heavy rectangular object, followed shortly by a smaller, lighter one, smoked him right between the eyes. "…ouchie…"

"Good_night_!" Another slam of the door.

Rubbing his head fiercely and feeling about in the darkness, Daxter finally managed to find what had hit him. Cursing Razer under his breath he collected the strange objects and stumbled over to the dubious glow of a streetlight to take stock of what he held.

"What the heck…?"

It was a box of condoms, and a book.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak was nearly asleep when he finally heard the front door open. A bleary glance at the softly illuminated face of the clock confirmed it; it was past midnight. Daxter had been out for over four hours.

_I will not get angry,_ he told himself firmly, rolling over pointedly so he wouldn't be facing the door if Dax came into the bedroom. _I will not be upset. Daxter is an adult and he can do whatever the hell he wants. It's none of my concern._

Closing his eyes tightly the green-blonde tried to go back to sleep. Very soon, however, the door creaked softly open and a dim shaft of light from the lamp in the other room fell across Jak's pillow. He didn't know why, but suddenly, for some childish reason he felt that he didn't want Daxter to know that he had been waiting up. He lay perfectly still, breathing deep and even, waiting for the redhead to either turn ottsel and get in bed or go away.

However, Daxter did neither. Jak listened intently, but he couldn't hear any movement one way or another. So Dax was… just standing in the doorway? _What the heck's he doing…?_

Finally the redhead began to move, slowly stepping into the darkness of the room. Jak continued to play opossum, lying motionless as Daxter inched closer. At last he could feel his friend hovering right next to the bed.

_Oh please… please change ottsel before you jump in here, please, please, __please_

Dax again did nothing, though. Jak's curiosity was eating him alive. If he but opened his eyes he could _see_ Dax, see his face, his expression, and maybe get the barest _clue_ what was going on. Hell, he could just sit up and casually ask if he'd had fun out on the town, but damned if his pride would allow _that_.

So he waited, refusing to open his eyes, and thus nearly jumped out of his skin when Daxter's hand suddenly landed lightly on his head. The green-blonde struggled to remain still and silent as cautious fingers gently twined in a lock of his hair. Almost _petting_ him, really.

_Let me repeat… what the hell?_

Jak was beyond confused. But what confused him most, instead of what was going on, was what _wasn't_ going on. He couldn't smell any residual smoke on Dax. No liquor. No perfume. Thank Mar, no perfume. The redhead wasn't giggling like he was being stupid or playing a joke. And there was the complete lack of anything but tenderness in the soft touches in his hair…

_Knock it off,_ Jak sneered at himself. _There's nothing romantic about this. He's probably just feeling guilty about leaving poor, pitiful, 'sit-around-the-house-on-a-Saturday-night-because-he-has-no-life' me behind. That's all._

However, that did not necessarily mean that he could not secretly enjoy it when Daxter played with his hair, or when he softly brushed it off the racer's face and tucked it behind one long, graceful ear. One must take what they can get, after all.

But then the redhead murmured something that spiked Jak's curiosity over the top. "Sleep tight, pal. I gotta go do my homework right now, but startin' tomorrow we're gonna have _lots'a_ fun." And then he smoothed his thumb over Jak's jawbone, from green goatee to slightly flushed cheek, before slipping quietly out again and closing the door with a soft snick.

After his friend had gone Jak lay there, mind racing and heart fluttering embarrassingly. Well. He certainly had no idea what that had been _about_, but it had definitely been pleasant enough.

The racer was no longer annoyed, anyway. He could hear Daxter, cleared of all suspicions of carousing, trying to move around quietly in the next room. His buddy was back home where he belonged, and that was all that really mattered. Smiling, he rolled back over and closed his eyes once more, sure that when he awoke it would be next to a snoozing ottsel who wouldn't mind getting a cuddle or two.

Little did Jak suspect however, as he fell into a much more contented sleep and Daxter settled down in the next room for a long night of reading, exactly what the morning would bring…

O.O.O.O.O

To be continued. When I have time.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: He-heh. Ha ha-ha-ha! I… got… it… DONE!! No thanks to work and my stoopid edja-ma-cashun. Mucho thanks, though, to my gal pal (and fellow JxD yaoi enthusiast) J-chan for helping me out with the bloopers and part of Razer's scene. Thanks a lot, J!

So yeah, there's still more left to go. Forewarning, next chapter has more boyxboy gewdness… a lot more. But the version on this site will be suitably edited, rest assured. The whole and complete version will be located on my account on the adult fan fiction site, for those of you who are of age and care to read it.

There, now that's done… on with the bloopers!

O.O.O.O.O

Razer: Damned raccoons, stay out of mah garage…! (sees Daxter) Good lord, you're zee ugliest raccoon Ah've ever seen.

Daxter: If I was a raccoon I'd go out'a my way ta give ya rabies.

O.O.O.O.O

Razer: ((purr)) You know, for a loud, annoying, bucktoothed boy you sure know how to handle your pipes…

Daxter: Uh. He-heh… (is scared)

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: (sweat) Yer, uh… yer kinda freakin' me out a bit there, buddy…

Razer: (smirk) What, being on your back and unable to see with your hands occupied and unable to defend yourself in mah presence makes you nervous?

Daxter: Well, when ya put it that way… yes!!

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: (pets Jak) Sleep tight, pal. I gotta go do my homework right now, but startin' tomorrow we're gonna have lots'a fun.

Jak: (sits up and smirks) Who does homework nowadays, geeze…

Daxter: (is tossed down) No, wait, I don't know what'a do yet!! Gyaaah!! (screams like a girl) _I'm supposed'ta be on toooooop!!_


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Howdy y'all! Looks like it's (belated) update time once more, just without the annoyances that plagued the completion of the last chapter. Make no mistake, a working PC all your own is a gift from the deity of your choice. Please enjoy this new installment, shonen-ai included. And for those of you whom I've ruined the story for by delving into the shonen-ai… well, I'm sorry, but that was the direction we were heading all along. (shrugs sheepishly)

Thank you to the stalwart reviewers, both those who've been with me from the get go and those who've just joined the party. You guys rock!

**Warning!:** Yup, more of that awesome (or not so awesome, depending on your tastes) boyxboy stuff here. A significantly larger bit of "more," actually. You has been warned. Just remember… they love each other, really they do :3

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to Naughty Dog. Including a large chunk of my soul by this time, I'm sure.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Daxter read through the night. He had no choice in the matter, really, for once he cautiously cracked the book so callously hurled at him by his new "friend" Razer he literally could not put it down. Stationed on the sofa in the soft glow of the small table lamp next to it, in fact exactly where Jak had been sulking just hours before, the redhead made his way steadily through the book as the night slipped by.

To begin with, he flipped through the pages to find a likely looking starting point. The book was divided into several segments, some of which seemed of much more import than others.

"Let's see, here," he mused. "'How ta accurately determine the true extent of yer orientation.' Straight with a side'a Jak, thanks. Movin' on. 'Emotional an' psychological aspects.' Eh, sounds dry. Next! 'Knowin' when yer ready.' Well I wouldn't be readin' this if I wasn't, duh." The first few chapters were quickly passed by.

"Ooh, 'necessary preparations!' That's what we're talkin' about. Might as well start here…"

So Daxter began to study.

At first he barely moved, so engrossed in the text was he, only a slight shift or ear twitch accompanying the turning of a page. _Hmm… well, uh, that's interestin' I guess…_ He coughed lightly, a bit nervously, and read on.

Soon, however, Dax began to fidget, plucking worriedly at the worn upholstery and squirming where he sat. After a while he suddenly closed the book in a hurry, keeping the place with one finger while he blinked dazedly around the room to get his bearings. He was flushing madly.

_Um, okay… wow… definitely didn't know __that__… See, they hide this stuff in books like this so people don't find out. Yeah, that's what it is, it's a conspiracy… _Nervously he ran a finger around the inside collar of his jacket. _Okay now, chill out, Dax. Just keep on readin'. Nothin' shakes Orange Lightning, baby! _

He firmly reopened the book and read a few more paragraphs before nearly choking on his tongue in abject shock. "Oh Precursors, can you actually _do _that?!"

He badly, _badly_ wished Jak were awake. But then again, he was also very, _very_ grateful that Jak was asleep. Once in the middle of these conflicting emotions he even caught himself rising from the couch to run for the bedroom door, but he had no idea whether he wanted Jak as a source of comfort, or…

_Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it, hornball. Ya ain't __that__ nervous if yer thinkin' that way. Now get back an' sit down an' finish the damn book!_

At last, after what seemed an eternity, Daxter turned the last page of the last chapter. Finally shutting the book he glanced tiredly out the window, amazed to see how light the sky had become. "Gee, time sure flies when yer havin' yer brain twisted upside down an' inside out."

Dropping the book on the sofa cushions he staggered into the kitchen. Some coffee would do him good.

As the redhead clattered through the drawers and cabinets he almost felt a sense of déjà vu from the first days after his ottselization so long ago. Everything around him was still the same, but his view of it had altered drastically. Quite abruptly he had found that the world he had long grown used to was very different, and it suddenly needed an immediate re-explore from his new (pint-sized) perspective.

At that moment, leaning against the kitchen counter absently watching the coffee pot filling slowly and steadily, Daxter had the same feeling. Nothing had changed but what he knew about a new and obscure subject, but now everything seemed strange.

_Too deep… __way__ too deep._

Grabbing the pot off the burner the moment it was full Dax poured himself a huge mug full. Despite all the interesting information he had absorbed through the night, he was still very tired. He considered his options.

Part of him wanted to go back and throw that stupid book out the window. He could skid into the bedroom ottsel, dive into bed, snuggle under Jak's chin and just let everything stay the same as it always was. Nice and normal. Safe.

The larger part, though, thought he should go, right now and immediately, and do something else entirely. He could just as easily skid into the bedroom human, dive into bed, pounce on Jak and put his newfound knowledge into practice.

_Mmm, yeah… like that idea better. Sexin' first, snuggles later. Guess I'm not as nervous as I am needy, he-heh._

That larger part was also telling him quite loudly and insistently that chickening out now was bogus, and he tended to agree with it. Jak at this point might not have a clue, but that didn't mean that Dax himself could so easily forget the events of the last few days. No matter what, things had changed. Besides, he had just been handed a passport to Ecstasy a' la Jak.

_I really do hav'ta do it now,_ he reasoned. _I'll never look at him without thinkin' about it again, an' I really do wanna kiss him. 'Sides... now that he can turn me on, Orange Lightning'll be humpin' the guy's knee fer the rest'a forever if I let it build up an' don't go through. _

Grinning at the mental picture the redhead went back, coffee in hand, to skim through the book again. A refresher course couldn't hurt while he waited for more important things; namely, for Jak to get up…

O.O.O.O.O

Jak took his sweet time waking up that morning, drifting in and out of pleasant dreams. When at last the racer did manage to fully regain consciousness, he blinked hazy blue eyes before a hand immediately flew to his cheek. That touch…

He sat up, scanning the sea of blankets. There was no sign that Daxter had been in during the night, ottsel or otherwise. There wasn't even an Orange Lightning sized indent in the covers next to him, which made the green-blonde a little sad.

_Hmm… dream or no dream, Jak?_

Finally he decided that the surprise caress, whatever the reason behind it, had to have happened. It was the only solid remnant of memory among all the other nice dreams that were already fading away. Lazily Jak rubbed a rough knuckle along the stubble of his jaw. He needed to shave. But first…

_I'm gonna go find that little twerp and… and touch him too somehow,_ he decided. _Even if he isn't ottsel I'll do it. Maybe even just mess his hair up, or something. I deserve that much, at least, for him not even bothering to stay in here for even a little bit, don't I?_

Mind made up, Jak stretched and leisurely made his way out of bed. A stack of clean laundry on top of the chest of drawers was rifled through as the racer searched for a set of matching socks. He would be very casual about what he was about to do, maybe distract his target by asking him about his night out.

Jak did not as a rule initiate contact with people. The only times he had even really touched Daxter since they had left Sandover had been when his friend was ottsel. The vast majority of human contact since then… all the wrestling, the tickling, the bath, the back rub… had in fact been instigated by Dax himself.

_And yesterday morning… does not count_, he thought firmly as a blush forced itself onto his face. Now that he was awake and fully functional in the reasoning department being the one to solicit a touch, no matter how minor, made the green-blonde a bit wary.

_Hey, come on, you can do it. _Looking on the bright side, he attempted to give himself a small pep talk while he shrugged on a fresh shirt over his boxers. _You hugged Keira yesterday. This is no big deal. Just pretend you're trying to annoy him by messing up his hair. His nice… soft… fluffy hair…_ Jak shook himself violently. _Or he could have fur right now, even, so it won't be a big deal. Scratch the ottsel chin, morning ear rub… it'll be__ fine_

Ready to begin his self-imposed mission, Jak squared his shoulders and straightened his shirt. Nothing to worry about. Confident, he opened the bedroom door.

O.O.O.O.O

"G'morning, Dax."

The notably cheerful greeting pulled the redhead from his intent studies. He glanced up as Jak stepped out of the bedroom, trying in vain to palm and finger comb wild bed head into place. Dax grinned slowly. Well hel_lo_, gorgeous.

"'Mornin' there, Sleepin' Beauty. I was wonderin' when you'd show."

"It's not even seven thirty yet. You need to get more sleep and lay _off_—" Daxter grimaced as Jak ruffled his hair soundly, "—the coffee! Look at this; you drank a whole pot again, didn't you."

Dax didn't think that was quite a fair assumption. Just because he was stretched out on the sofa very early in the morning, wide awake with an empty coffee pot and mug at his elbow, that didn't necessarily mean he had been the one to drink it. Even though he had. "And yer point…?"

Jak sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing, nothing." Then he paused, almost doing a double take. "Hey… you're _reading_, Dax?"

The redhead jumped guiltily. He'd completely forgotten the book still clutched in his grasp. "Oh, uh… yeah. I borrowed it from… somebody. It's real… eh-heh… real interestin'. Couldn't put it down." Covertly he tried to wedge the book between his knee and the cushions.

"So that's where you went last night? To borrow that book?" For some reason Jak's face brightened. Dax absently wondered why. Huh… maybe the green-blonde was just happy to see his friend for once in his life willingly read something that wasn't a parts manual or a dirty magazine. Little did he suspect.

"Yeah. I was gonna come curl up with ya, but ya were already sleepin' so I figured I'd read a little. Just got caught up in it, I guess. But, uh, ya sleep good anyway?"

"Sure, I slept fine." Smiling, Jak collected the empty coffee apparatus and headed for the kitchen, presumably to brew more. He was even whistling a little under his breath.

Relieved, Daxter again pulled out the book. He was glad for Jak's good mood. The night before he'd been half afraid the racer wouldn't go to sleep until he had his grabby mitts on Orange Lightning, and that would have nipped his late night read-a-thon in the bud. Finding Jak not only unbothered by a night alone the next morning was one thing, but…

Lowering the book once more, Daxter paused. He considered. And he acted on the spur of the moment. Happy-For-No-Apparent-Reason Jak was too good an opportunity to pass up. A decision was made.

Now… now, when Jak was all happy-like… now was the time. The day of the seduction of Jak Mar, the savior of cities, defeater of bad guys, winner of death-defying races, lover of children and small animals everywhere… it was finally at hand.

Daxter sized up the situation.

_Okay, so he's just got up. Barely dressed, no shower yet, no coffee… possibly still a little slow. Not quite on his toes. Yeah… this could work. I can pull this off!_

A devious smile crept across the redhead's face. Slowly he rose from the sofa and, with a casual stretch and feigned yawn, meandered in the direction of the bathroom. If he remembered correctly there were certain… supplies… that were needed in order to attempt what he had in mind.

A quick riffle through the cabinet under the sink yielded some spiders and the duo's battered and much-used first aid kit. The last held promise, and Daxter cracked it open curiously. There, atop a roll of bandages and gauze, lay exactly what he needed.

'_Magically appearin' lube only exists in fan fiction. Make sure ya have a sufficient supply before ya begin,'_ he quoted absently as he grabbed the small jar of antibacterial salve out of the box. _And, check! Must be my lucky day._

Dax tiptoed back to the main room, carefully noting Jak's location and behavior. As he had hoped, the racer was still in the kitchen. He was still whistling lightly and the smell of fresh coffee was again beginning to permeate their small home. The early morning sunlight filtering through the dirty windows even managed to make the whole scene seem a little warm and cozy.

Daxter smiled. What a nice setting for an ambush.

Now the redhead just had to figure out how to lure his quarry into an appropriate location. He would have to go about it carefully, as Jak would surely cut and run if he wasn't caught completely off guard.

_I gotta get the drop on the big guy, but how?_ he wondered, tapping his chin in thought. _M'not strong enough ta shove him up against the cabinets… can't drag him back ta bed… not enough muscle ta push him down anywhere…_ It was quite a conundrum. Then Daxter remembered the technique he'd used just two nights ago, the one that had sent a startled Jak sprawling on the big bed at the palace. _Hey, that's right! Maybe I can't flat knock him down, but I can __overbalance__ him! Yeah, I just gotta get the big guy somewhere I can…_

After a moment, his restlessly roving gaze slowly settled on the sofa. Dax rubbed his palms together delightedly, a devious smirk showing the glint of buck teeth. Oh, yeah. It was all coming together.

Dropping the little jar on the table near the sofa that was now central to his plan, Daxter shifted excitedly from one foot to the other. The anticipation was getting pretty awful. He was now poised, confident, soon to be in control, and ready to get on with things. Clearly it was time to begin. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, Jak? How's that coffee comin'?"

A low chuckle from out of sight greeted the query. "Almost done."

"How 'bout bringin' me a cup, huh ol' buddy?"

There was a clattering in the kitchen. The refrigerator opened and closed. "I'll bring you some, but it's half milk and no sugar. Didn't Vin tell you between the caffeine and liquor you're gonna ruin your kidneys? Or your liver… I can't remember."

Dax could hardly hold back his laughter. Jak was certainly talkative this morning. Hopefully very soon he'd give the green-blonde something to make some _real_ noise about. "Yeah, yeah, the kidneys. I know. Just hurry it up in there, pal, we ain't got all mornin'!"

An amused snort was his only answer before Jak reentered the room, a wry smile on his face and a mug in each hand. "No offense, Dax, but I think your Precursor status has gone to your head."

"Hey, I'm a god! I'm allowed!"

"And technically I'm a prince, so shouldn't we be… I dunno… all-powerful allies or something?"

"Sure, pal, an' we are. The Demolition Duo, that's us all the way. Just, I'm the boss." Daxter smugly accepted the mug Jak thrust at him with a resigned sigh.

Good. Their small talk was keeping the racer relaxed and completely at ease. Now if he could just slowly back the green-blonde into position… Dax took a quick sip from his cup and placed it surreptitiously on the table by the sofa. It could only get in the way. He could feel the flutters of nervous excitement building.

_Come on, babe, now's yer cue… look away fer two seconds an' give Daxxie a chance… _

The opportunity was not long in coming. Taking a deep swig from his own mug Jak ambled toward the couch, curiously regarding the book still lying innocently on the cushions. "So what is it you were reading all that time, Dax?" he asked, reaching out to pick up the mysterious chunk of text that could keep Daxter enthralled for most of an entire night.

The redhead couldn't resist.

"Bend over an' I'll show ya, gorgeous," he purred, simultaneously shocked and amazed at the husky timbre his voice had suddenly adopted. He was tensing, drifting into position and awaiting the perfect angle, the absolute best moment… and then it came.

Jak barked out a startled laugh, giving his friend an incredulously amused look and shaking his head in denial. "Daxter, you are totally insane…" Seeming somewhat flustered, the racer removed his gaze from Dax and settled it on the cover of the book. A mistake.

As the green-blonde's eyes flew wide in shock, Daxter sprang into action. Still staring dumbly at the book clutched in his suddenly numb hand, Jak barely had time to utter the title that had alarmed him so before the redhead's stooped shoulder caught him hard in the lower back with all Daxter's power behind it.

"'_Sodomy for Morons'_?!"

O.O.O.O.O

Jak hit the sofa hard. He barely registered the thump of the book as it met the floor, or the '_clunk, splash_' impact of his coffee mug less than a second later. All his senses were immediately honed, razor sharp, on the situation in which he had suddenly found himself.

He'd been hit, been attacked, he had to _fight back_ and couldn't when he was face first in the couch cushions!The former hero snarled, instinctively scrambling into a better defensive position and drawing back to return the blow. Reason returned quick as lightning, however, when a redheaded blur landed in his lap.

"Daxter, what the _Hell_—?!"

Jak was pinned before he could even summon a coherent thought. Daxter's knees dug into the cushions on either side of his hips as their legs tangled together, the redhead's hands on his shoulders firmly pushing him back into the arm rest of the sofa. Well and truly trapped if he didn't want to throw Dax off and chance hurting him, the racer could only lie dumbly on his back, breathing harsh and eyes riveted on his best friend.

Daxter hovered over him, faces only a breath apart. He grinned hugely at Jak as if they were sharing some colossal joke, but the look made Jak more than nervous. Somehow, this time he didn't think his friend was trying to start a wrestling match. Daxter's eyes were different; hooded and slightly wild. Almost predatory. Something clenched in Jak's gut, made him want to gulp and sink back into the sofa in an uncharacteristic show of meekness.

Not good.

"Dax…?" He could barely get the breath to whisper it.

The redhead chuckled, leaning in even closer. Jak jerked, pressing his head back as far as he was able to avoid any mortifyingly embarrassing contact that Daxter didn't intend. But Dax kept coming closer…

"Don't worry, pal," he all but purred, slowly lifting a single finger to tweak playfully at the stunned green-blonde's goatee. "I know what I'm doin'. Mostly."

Then Jak couldn't move, couldn't breathe at all as Daxter's hands moved to tilt his face up and hold it steady, thumbs tracing green sideburns up the sides of his cheeks and hooking over the base of his ears. The racer felt suddenly dizzy, reality spun out of control, and he slammed his eyes shut a scant second before another pair of warm, soft lips met his own.

This couldn't be happening. He was dreaming again. Daxter was _not_ sprawled over and against him, Daxter was _not_ holding his face gently, and Daxter _certainly_ was _not_ kissing him. Why would he be? It was entirely impossible.

This couldn't be happening. But it was.

"Geeze, Jak… open up why don'cha."

Jak gasped, jumping involuntarily. His eyes flew open as his head was tipped back even farther, the taste of strong coffee bursting across his taste buds as their mouths fused completely and a slick tongue moved insistently against his own. Dear… sweet… Precursors.

Instinctively the green-blonde's hands shot up to clench tightly in the back of Daxter's shirt, holding on like death. He felt lightheaded and his heartbeat pounded madly in his ears. Still… all that didn't keep him from tentatively trying to kiss his friend back, if even just a little.

Daxter made a sound of approval, and Jak could feel his smile against his lips. "Yeah, pal… that's better…"

Finally trusting that Jak wouldn't try to escape, the redhead released his grip. Hands that had been carefully keeping him face front began to drift up the racer's long ears, quick fingers circling and caressing their length in a way that could only be described as indecent before gently catching and rubbing the flushed, pointed tips.

Biting back what he was sure would be an embarrassing noise, Jak tried valiantly to rally his rapidly dwindling thought processes.

Why? Why was Daxter doing this? It was so sudden, there was absolutely no reason for it, it was—suddenly entirely too much trouble to think about as nimble hands slipped under the hem of his loose cotton shirt, pleasantly cool against his burning skin. The racer shivered at the contact, fighting not to lean further into it.

No, no, he couldn't lose himself! He had to _think_, damn it, not—shove his chest up into Daxter's touch with something very like an astonished wail, nearly writhing when the redhead's curious fingers tweaked as yet unexplored, but apparently very sensitive, territory.

"Well wadda'ya know," Dax chuckled, giving Jak an amused grin before leaning close once more for another deep kiss. "Guess that really does work."

Face redder than the scarf that had been such a constant part of his attire not so long ago, Jak could only whimper as his best friend leisurely but thoroughly explored the inside of his mouth. This was, hands down, the most intense experience outside a battlefield or explosives-ridden race course he had ever experienced.

Heat engulfed the green-blonde. Not the heat that accompanied blind rage, not the all-too-familiar burn of dark eco, but a good heat. A heat like lying on the beach in the sun for just a little too long and still not wanting to move. A delicious heat that, stemming from his face, chest, and every point of contact between Daxter's body and his own, slowly coiled in the pit of his stomach.

It was wonderful, and terrifying.

"Ya know, it wouldn't kill ya ta participate a little here…"

Jak panted against Daxter's mouth, fists twisting tighter in the redhead's wrinkled shirt. His reasoning skills might be lacking a bit at the moment, but surely Dax was right. He couldn't just lay there. He had to touch Dax, too. Hesitantly his hands inched down from narrow shoulders to rest gingerly on a slim waist.

"Yeah, that's right, pal… now, _under_…" Daxter helpfully directed the racer's hand until Jak's palm met soft, warm skin. The redhead wriggled appreciatively as Jak tried his hardest to touch without tickling. "Mmm… purr, babe. That's nice."

Jak tried to grin back, but his smile wavered. For every move forward they made, his brain tried to rebel. With each new act of exploration, his grip on reality tightened a little more even as holding himself back became harder and harder to manage.

He had to stop, couldn't let this go any further without knowing what Daxter's motives were! If he let this continue and it all turned out to be just curiosity on his friend's part… or, Precursors forbid, some sort of twisted _joke_… Jak really didn't think he could handle it.

He took a deep breath, steeled himself to keep focused and not give in to the pleasure of the moment. He didn't want Daxter to stop. Far from it. But he had to end this. _Talk to him, just talk to him, get him to stop for just a second and __talk__ to you…_

"Daxter…" He tried not to sound pleading, he really did, but his face must have betrayed his wariness. When he looked up at his friend beseechingly he found long fingers suddenly pressed against his lips, firmly hushing any protests.

"Big guy, trust me. It's okay. I read up on this. It's all cool." With that the hands under Jak's shirt began to drift lower, tickling faintly down the racer's stomach on an unerring path toward…

Alarm bells were sounding in Jak's head. "No, Dax, that's not what I—ahh!!" He couldn't help but cry out, hands instinctively gripping the hips they still rested on with bruising force as the redhead's fingers came to rest on the waistband of his boxers. "Wait!"

"Forget it, babe. Ya been waitin' fer this fer too long already."

The significance of the words was lost on Jak. He was fighting not to panic.

_Move, you idiot!_ his mental voice was shrieking. _Do something! Shove him off already! _The second the thought registered, though, Jak knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't going to happen. It hadn't been an option from the start.

He loved Daxter. He wanted this contact, craved it. Never thought he'd get it. No matter what might happen later… no matter the negative repercussions that were sure to bitch slap him right in the face… right now he couldn't push the redheaded little idiot away.

Gritting his teeth so hard it hurt Jak turned his flushed face into the cushions and closed his eyes tight, bracing helplessly for the inevitable…

…when the beeping started.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter blinked slowly, shaking his head as if to dispel some of the lust induced haze that seemed to have settled over him. Something was out of place.

Cocking his head and lifting one long ear slightly, the redhead listened. A sound was penetrating their little sphere. A loud, _annoying_ sound that was most definitely not a certain green-blonde moaning in pleasure, which happened to be the only sound Daxter wanted to hear at that particular moment.

"A'right, what the hell is that noise?"

Beneath him Jak shifted, chest heaving and eyes wild. It was only when the breathless racer began gesturing unsteadily toward the bedroom, where the beeping was obviously emanating from, that Dax understood what it was. It was Jak's communicator. The redhead rolled his eyes, shifting pointedly in Jak's lap.

"Listen, pal. I know what yer thinkin' an' the answer is no. Ignore it." Satisfied that the problem had been solved Dax readjusted his grip on the boxers to the high pitched whine of his friend, but no sooner had he done so than the 'com crackled to life in the next room.

/"Chili peppah, if you have any idea what's good for you you'll get your lazy backside outta bed an' pick up in the next ten seconds! Do not make me call you back, Jak!"/

Daxter groaned in frustration as Jak made a genuine effort to sit up. Of course it _had_ to be Sig, the one person they respected enough to not ignore. With a suffering sigh, he clambered off of Jak and the sofa. When the former hero made a move to follow, though, Dax pushed him back down and leveled a firm pointer finger in his face.

"Stay."

Jak's mouth hung open dumbly, dazed blue eyes crossed comically as he tried to focus on the finger. Dax had to grin, chuckling lightly as he sought out the 'com with all due haste. Who said manly, muscled guys couldn't be adorable?

He found the noisy little machine in the pocket of Jak's racing jacket, dropped in a careless heap on the bedroom floor. Sig had almost finished counting threateningly to ten. Grumbling, Daxter flipped it on. "Yeah, what is it?"

The big man's ominous tone immediately brightened to a much friendlier level. /"Hey cherry! How's our favorite li'l fur ball today?"/

"Fine, fine." _Just so damn horny I think I might actually __die_ "Uh, was there somethin' ya needed?" _Get ta the__ point__, Sig… Some people have things ta do, racers ta screw…ha, that rhymed…_

"Yeah. Is Jak somewhere I can talk to him for a minute?"

"Uh, nope, sorry, Jak's busy." _Very_ busy. At the memory of exactly what they had been doing that had the green-blonde so occupied Daxter sifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, trying to ease some of the built up pressure. It was times like this when it definitely didn't pay to wear tight pants… "Leave a message or hang up."

Sig laughed, oblivious. /"Charming as always, aren't ya. Listen, you tell Jak the whole crew's headed back to Kras tomorrow morning. The new batch of parts and upgrades came in last night and we got a lot of work to do before the cars are ready for the next round of races, ya dig?"/

"The parts came in?" Dax couldn't help it; the mechanic in him couldn't wait to get back to work on improving the Javelin X. Suddenly the unexpected and highly unwanted interruption had become almost worthwhile. "Sweet. We'll be there."

/"Good. See ya then, cherry."/

"Later." On that positive note, Daxter turned off the 'com and dropped it haphazardly on the dresser. His luck today really was turning out to be quite something. Grinning smugly, he cracked his knuckles and stretched leisurely. "Alrightie then. Back ta business!"

Unfortunately, there was a small kink in his plan. When the redhead bounded back into the living room, more than ready to take up where they had left off, it became immediately obvious that something was missing. The sofa was empty. Jak had disappeared.

_Oh, fantastic_, he griped to himself as his ears angled back in annoyance. _He buggered off!_

Well, at least he hadn't heard any doors slamming during his short conversation with Sig. Wherever he might be the racer was still in the house, and the house was not that big. Daxter would find his quarry eventually. Secure in this knowledge, he peeked into the kitchen.

There was Jak. While not exactly huddled in the corner by the small window, the racer wasn't exactly holding himself with remarkable confidence, either. He jumped a mile when Dax cleared his throat, spinning away from the window to stare warily at his friend.

"C'mon, now, Jakkie-boy. I know fer a fact ya know what 'stay' means." Leaning insolently in the doorway, Daxter pretended to shake his head sadly. "I gotta tell ya, it's gonna look pretty silly if I hav'ta chase ya around this place, so why don'cha be a good boy an' come on back in here with Daxxie…" Smiling as seductively as he knew how, he crooked a finger playfully.

Jak's eyes were still huge. Green-blonde locks swirled and bounced as he shook his head negatively, seemingly unable to form words.

"Aw, c'mon! Ya can't tell me ya weren't lovin' it five minutes ago!" Daxter resisted the immediate impulse to just jump on his prey and be damned Jak's stupid reservations. Who the racer thought he was fooling with the shy guy routine, Dax would never know. "Listen, pal, ya can quit beatin' around the bush. I told ya before, it's fine."

Still shaking his head, Jak plunged equally shaky hands into his hair in frustration. Absently the redhead wondered if he was about to have some sort of nervous breakdown. "Daxter, no."

"No? Wadda'ya mean, _no?!_" Daxter was amazed, confused, and considerably pissed. He had gone so far out of his way to offer this to his friend that he could barely remember where it had all started, and now here Jak was refusing? Dax didn't think so. "Cut the crap, Jak. Get yer ass back in here an' let's get it on!"

The second the command left his mouth, though, the redhead regretted it. Jak nearly cringed, shuffling back in exactly the opposite direction that the other wanted him to move. Taking a deep breath to curb his annoyance, Dax rubbed a palm over his face. "Too fast. It was too fast, wasn't it?"

Jak paused and then nodded hesitantly, blue eyes still wide and strangely sparkly.

Daxter did a double take, staring at his friend in disbelief. "Holy shit. Yer cryin'."

"Huh?" The former hero started, cuffing roughly at his eyes with the back of one hand. "No I'm not. I just… you startled me and I just teared up a little, that's all…"

Daxter fought the sudden need to bash his head against some hard, stationary object.

He'd made Jak cry. Almost cry. The last time that had happened they had been six years old and he'd intentionally scared away a frog the quiet boy had been studying intently. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be turning out _at all_. He had set high expectations for this morning, and none of them ended in a position anything like this.

Quickly, Dax made a spur of the moment decision. "Jak, listen, I'm sorry. I'm real sorry, buddy, I mean it. Just… chill out here fer a little bit, okay? For the love of all that's good an' holy, don't run off! I gotta go talk ta somebody an' I'll be right back, okay?"

Jak looked a bit dazed, but nevertheless nodded slowly. Breathing a sigh of relief the redhead took off, only turning back once to make sure Jak wasn't doing the same and running out the back door. He had to get to the Naughty Ottsel, and _fast_.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter had been gone less than a minute when Jak began to pace. He traversed the house thoughtlessly, at some moments stalking in agitation and wandering like one half asleep at others. His mind was in a whirl; he had no idea what to think.

Finally, though, Jak thought he should probably at least set the house to rights. Cleaning up the coffee he had spilled on the carpet might take his mind off things, and they wouldn't have to walk around a huge brown sticky spot on the rug for the rest of forever.

Drifting back to the living room, the racer's first reaction was to hover near the sofa. While he told himself that he was focused on the stain next to the dilapidated piece of furniture, he was in all honesty staring at the rumpled cushions that had seemed so soft beneath his back less than a half hour ago. If the 'com hadn't gone off when it did…

Jak flushed brightly, halfheartedly trying to wedge the cushions back into place. _Damn. It won't matter what happens when he gets back, I'm going to remember that to the day I die. That might not be that long, but still. Hmm… I wonder who buzzed, anyway…_

Stooping, he grabbed up both the forgotten mug, thankfully unbroken, and the book that he had dropped when Daxter first tackled him. The latter begged to be opened and investigated, but Jak firmly placed it on the table instead. He had better things to think about, like why Daxter had been reading a book like that in the first place.

_Well, Jak, obviously he was trying to catch up on the summer reading list. _Despondently, the green-blonde collapsed across the very couch that had been an unwitting accomplice to his recent (and not altogether unpleasant) molestation.

So Daxter had been reading a book about gay sex. And then he had ambushed Jak, to astounding results. Just because Jak's head had reservations about the surprise activity didn't mean that Jak's body hadn't enjoyed every minute of it. The question was, did Dax just have an interest in the subject for whatever reason and simply use his friend as a convenient experiment? Or…

"Aaarggh!!" Unable to keep still, the green-blonde left the sofa in favor of the bedroom.

He was Jak Mar, damn it, and as such was far above wallowing in worry and indecision. He would behave like the reasonable adult he was. He would get dressed, have some breakfast, clean up the coffee stain, and wait for Daxter to return. And when his friend did come back, Jak would find out his motives. It was just that simple.

Calm and composed once more, Jak confidently stripped off his shirt. It was wrinkled beyond repair after their little tussle and, as they now had laundry soap for the first time in weeks, he could afford to put on another. He was reaching for a fresh one when he happened to glance at himself in the mirror… and noticed the hickeys.

"_Precursors, why?!_"

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter hit the doors of the saloon at a run. "Tess, we got a problem!"

Behind the bar the blonde girl winced at the noise of the slamming door, then sighed. "Well good morning to you, too. Daxxie, don't you think it's a little _early_ for major disasters?"

"Believe me, baby, I wish it was. I totally screwed up."

"Wait." Tess motioned him to fidgeting silence for the time it took her to put away the bottles she was organizing. She came out from behind the counter and situated herself comfortably next to him on a high stool. "Okay, go ahead. What did you do?"

Groaning miserably, the redhead folded his arms on the bar and hid his face in them. "I think I just freaked Jak out big time."

At the mention of the tough racer Tess was immediately on the alert. "Oh, no! What happened?"

"Well, see, last night I went ta see Razer…"

As quickly as he could Daxter filled her in on the events of the night before, leading up to what had happened that morning. He might have left out a few of the juicier details, but was sure she got the idea. By the time he finished telling his story Tess was shaking her head in despair.

"I can't believe this…"

"Me either!" The redhead's frantic gesturing belied just how confounded he was over the whole situation. "I was doin' everythin' right an' he was lovin' it—we were both lovin' it! Then the 'com went off, I answered it, came back an' he apparently found a chastity belt while I was gone! I tell ya what, Tessy, I—"

"—have still not talked to him!" To the redhead's utter amazement Tess suddenly seized his long ears in both hands, forcing their faces within centimeters of each other. "Daxxie, don't you _get_ it?! He doesn't know _why_ you came on to him! For all he knows you still have no idea how he feels about you!"

"Wha…?" Dax was now a bit on the freaked out side himself. Tess was nearly screaming.

"You," she growled, punctuating each word with a tug at the captured ears that made Daxter's head jerk back and forth alarmingly, "have got—to talk—to him!! I can't spell it out for you any plainer than that!"

"Okay, okay!" He fought the purely ottsel reflex to squeal in panic and hide under the bar. "I'll talk ta him, Tess, I will—just lemme go!"

Breathing hard, the blonde finally loosened her grip and allowed her victim to scramble away. "You bet you will! Now get back there and do it right! Tell him how you feel with passion, with finesse, with all the love and reassurance that poor boy deserves!"

Daxter was already so far out the door he barely heard her. Holy dang, where had his perky little blonde gone and who was this she-devil with fire in her eyes? It would have been sexy if it weren't so damned terrifying.

O.o.O.o.O

Still growling, Tess viciously polished the worn wood of the bar until it squeaked beneath her dust rag. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid _boy…!"

Her infinite patience and cheer were being tested to the limit. She loved Daxter, she really did, but if he managed to blow the wonderful opportunity that had been dumped squarely in his oblivious little lap she swore she would—!

"'Mornin' sugar," Jinx called cheerfully, the wooden stairs leading down from the upstairs living quarters creaking beneath his heavy boots. "What was all the racket? I could'a caught another hour's sleep, easy… Tess? Wat'cha lookin' at, baby doll?"

A strange gleam in her eyes, Tess sized him up. Stubbly jaw, uncombed hair, bare chest, unbuckled pants… what the hell. All her frustration had to go _somewhere. _An evil smirk in place, she snapped the rag expertly as Jinx's ears drooped and eyes widened in realization.

"Come to mama!"

O.O.O.O.O

Morning slowly faded into afternoon as Jak lay staring into space, alone with his thoughts.

After the hickey incident, which in and of itself had successfully reestablished the racer's panic response, he had finally managed to calm down again. Though he hadn't been able to force himself to eat anything, he had gotten together a bucket of water and a sponge and tried his best against the coffee spot. He was rather proud; against the rest of the grunge ground into the old carpet the brown area near the sofa was now nearly unnoticeable. He had also found and put away the antibacterial cream from the first aid kit, though he had no idea what it was doing on the living room table.

Now, on his back on the bed for lack of a better place to be, Jak gazed blankly at the ceiling. Dax had been gone a while… So absorbed in blank thoughts was he that the green-blonde almost missed the telltale sound of the front door opening and closing quietly, heralding his friend's return.

Almost.

Suddenly realizing that he was no longer alone and taking note of his vulnerable position, Jak sat up in a hurry. Warily he watched the open entrance to the bedroom, ready in the event of another ambush. Daxter wouldn't find it so easy to take him down a second time…

However, in reality the racer had nothing to fear. It was not a cocky redhead who peeked into the room a quiet minute later, but a rather meek ottsel.

Catching sight of Jak around the edge of the door, Orange Lightning grinned hesitantly before creeping slowly into the room. "Hey there, pal. Only me, back ta brighten yer day once again!"

Relieved beyond measure, Jak unconsciously relaxed. "Hey."

"Yeah…"

They regarded each other for long, silent, incredibly awkward moments. Finally, just when Jak didn't think he could take any more, Daxter sprang onto the bed and into his arms.

"Ya know, I think it's been way too long since I made the dumb animal noise. Think ya could help me out?"

Laughing unsteadily as the tension of the situation immediately dissolved, Jak scooped his friend up and squeezed. "Yeah, I guess I could handle that."

Daxter obligingly went limp as the racer's hands began to pet and stroke. Jak rubbed carefully between the tiny shoulders and, very cautiously, the ruff of fur on the narrow chest. He scratched gently under the ottsel's uplifted chin, behind his ears, and at the nape of his neck. For a long time he held his small friend in his lap, not saying a word, just reassuring himself with every touch.

It was only when Daxter was sprawled facing his friend with his back resting against Jak's upraised knees, tail twitching in contentment as his back paws were caught and tickled lightly by the relaxed racer, that the ottsel spoke.

"So. Jak." He looked up meaningfully, and Jak was immediately caught in his gaze. "We gotta talk."

A cold chill wormed its way up the racer's spine. For a moment he wanted to deny it; everything was fine, everything was normal, they didn't need to ruin any lifelong friendships today… "Yeah… yeah we do."

"Don't worry, I'll start. Just listen first an' don't interrupt, right? We got enough drama in our lives already so I'm gonna make this as simple as I can."

"Right." Jak braced himself as Daxter took a deep breath. The moment of truth.

"Okay. Lemme just get this off on the right foot here an' say right off the bat that I… well, I… love ya, big guy. In all the ways those words mean. An' I know how completely cheesy that sounds but don't stop me, I'm on a roll!"

Jak wouldn't have been able to stop his friend if he had wanted to. He felt frozen in shock, sure that his face and ears were stuck in some sort of goofy position. Had he really just heard those words from Dax? Dare he presume to hope…?

"Furthermore, I happen ta know fer a fact that you, Jak Mar, love me too. Bottom line? This is gonna work. So don't worry yer little blonde head, babe."

Jak hated himself for it, but he couldn't simply accept everything just like that. "But Dax, you don't even… you're not… I mean… damn it, you like women—!"

Quick as the lightning his ottsel persona was named for Daxter whipped his foot paw out of Jak's numb fingers and landed it squarely on the racer's mouth. "No interruptions, I said! Look, pal, yer the most important thing I got, alright? Just take a minute ta bask in the fact that ya just got promoted ta the esteemed position of my first an' last main man."

Delirious happiness was trying its best to course through the green-blonde. "So what, I'm like your…?"

"My main squeeze, my one an' only, the official recipient of all things sexy an' awesome exported from Dax-ville on the love train… that's you, sweet-cheeks."

Jak felt like someone had wrapped warm hands around his heart and squeezed when his friend looked up and gave him a lopsided, though clearly heartfelt, grin. He suddenly wanted to cry for real. "Dax…" Not knowing quite what to do with his hands, he let his fingers faintly trace the yellow rings of fur around Orange Lightning's arm. "Are you sure you're not doing this just for me?"

"Nah." Daxter managed not to look too guilty. "I might'a been… just a little bit… at first. But hey, ya know I'm too selfish ta let it stay that way. Now I'm totally in it fer both of us. That said, anythin' else ya feel like ya wanna add ta our little talk?"

"Not that you haven't already said."

"Great, then let's wrap this up, huh buddy? I'm starvin' an' if I remember correctly we got some… ah… unfinished business ta tend to after breakfast."

Far from being put off by his friend's careless tone, Jak was grateful for it. It just proved that Daxter was still Daxter, he was still Jak, and they were still a team. Just closer now than ever before. Smiling so hard it hurt he scooped Daxter up once more, tucking the ottsel's head under his chin and hugging him tightly. "I really, _really_ love you, Dax."

Panting a bit for breath, Daxter managed to sling his arms around Jak's neck in order to hug back. "I know. But geeze, big guy, watch the grip!"

Finally rising from his position propped up against the headboard, Jak climbed off the bed and boosted Daxter up onto his shoulder. He really wanted to carry him into the kitchen, though, didn't want to stop holding him yet. Jak flushed lightly as he realized that, had Daxter not currently been ottsel, they surely would have kissed a moment ago…

"Jak. Hey, Jak!" A swift tug at his ear brought the embarrassed racer out of his romantic musings. "Let's go, pal. Kitchen, food, pronto!"

"I'm going, already. Furry slave driver…" Muttering good-naturedly, Jak tugged lightly at his friend's swishing tail as they meandered toward their late breakfast. "Hey, Dax?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you realize that I… you know… how I felt?"

"Eh, a while ago," the ottsel replied carelessly. "What day was it when we all hung out at the bar?"

Jak thought for a moment and then stopped in his tracks, staring up at Daxter in horror. "That was almost a week ago!"

"Yeah? And?"

"The other night at the palace!" Jak yelled, face alight with indignation. "You were _teasing_ me!"

"Uh, he-heh… oops?"

"Daxter!!" Jak grabbed for the furry miscreant but missed, hands swiping at empty space as the ottsel bounded off his shoulder plate and shot into the kitchen. Jak immediately gave chase. "Get back here, you little—! I'm gonna pound your scrawny ass!"

"Is that a promise?" A gleeful cackle from under the rickety table. "Come on, babe, I was just messin' with ya! It was fer the greater good, I swear!"

"Bull shit! That was _hell_, do you understand me Daxter? That was _torture! _I'm gonna kill you, I really am…" The racer growled as he shoved a shoulder under the table and made another grab.

"Gonna kill me, huh? What happened ta 'oh, I love ya _sooooo_ much, Daxter, really I do?' No, hey, stoppit! I was only kiddin' Jak, I promise!"

Jak had to laugh himself as he finally caught and mercilessly ruffled the shrieking, squirming ottsel. Despite the fact that he felt like a complete and utter fool, he also felt pretty damned amazing. He didn't have to hide anything, didn't have to worry any more about keeping secrets from his best friend. Things were back to the way they should be. What could possibly be better?

Little did he realize…

O.O.O.O.O

To be continued...!

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd) AN: (does the happy dance) Yay! It's ready! I want to take this opportunity to give a special shout-out to Sedgehammer, who does an astoundingly good job of keeping after me to work on this poor neglected fic! Hugs and kissus for you, Sedge!

Now, eventually, I will get around to posting the… erm… _rougher_ version of this chapter on adultfanfic dot net. Those of you who want to check it out, please feel free, as it will be easily located in the Jak section. But for those of you who would rather pass, don't worry. I only cut out the stuff that would obviously get me in trouble on this site, so nothing crucial to the plot has been left out of this edited version.

Now, the part you know you've been waiting for… on with the outtakes!

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: (smirk) Ya totally cried.

Jak: No I didn't.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: (runs back into the bar) Hey Tessy, I almost forgot ta ask ya if—

Jinx: Heeeeeelp!! Raaaaape!! (cries like a nancy)

Tess: Don't be such a baby!

Daxter: O-kay… (inches out, then runs for his life)

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Yeah ya did. Ya cried.

Jak: I did not cry!

O.O.O.O.O

Jak: So, uh… (blush) Should we kiss now?

Ottsel Dax: Will ya be offended by orange fur in yer mouth?

Jak: Probably, yeah.

Ottsel Dax: Then no.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Just admit it, pal. No one's gonna make fun of ya fer cryin.'

Jak: For the last time, I did _not_ cry!!

Daxter: Ya don't hav'ta get all defensive about it, geeze…

Jak: I'm not being defensive!!

O.O.O.O.O

Ottsel Dax: Hold on, should I change back so we can do the big romantic kissin' scene?

Jak: Will you try to rape me again?

Ottsel Dax: Probably, yeah.

Jak: Then no.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak: The other night at the palace! You were _teasing_ me!

Ottsel Dax: (smirk) Well, duh.

Jak: I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass!

Dark Jak Shoulder Devil: (eating popcorn as he watches) Ha, ha, look'it him chase the fur ball!

Light Jak Shoulder Angel: (rolls eyes) Small minds are easily amused…

Dark: Ha, he caught him! (pause) Hey, yeah, you go, Jakkie! Spank that naughty little ottsel, aw-right!!

Light: (shrieks) No, Jak, bestiality is a sin!!

Dark: So is sodomy. Want some popcorn?


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Alright, everyone. Chapter IX. Ready for this? Here goes. Thanks, reviewers! Thanks, Sedge! You are, without a doubt, awesome-ness incarnate.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it or profit from it, but I do enjoy bastardizing it an awful lot. Thank you Naughty Dog Inc., wherever you may be.

**Warning:** (sigh) You know the drill, guys. There's boy lovin', but nothing too bad.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"I really don't see it, Dax… Are you sure it fell under here?"

"Oh, uh, it's there alright. Just, uh, just keep lookin'."

Daxter smiled slyly as, on his hands and knees, Jak made a noise of puzzlement and shoved himself further under the car. Twirling the "missing" wrench in his fingers the ottsel basked in the lovely view of the racer's tight denim and leather-clad backside, invitingly presented at the perfect level to admire as he struggled under the low riding vehicle. Oh, yeah. The ambience in the garage sure had improved this time around.

They had been back in Kras City just over a month, and already the situation was better than Daxter had ever thought it could be. Oh, sure, he _might_ have forgotten to give Jak Sig's message and they _might_ have arrived in town late by a day behind the rest of their team, but Jak had quickly forgiven him the small oversight. After all, he had only forgotten because they'd spent the entire day preceding the intended departure date snuggling up a storm and acting, in general, stupidly happy in their newfound liberties with one another. Jak had no choice but to forgive him, really.

"I'm telling you, it's not under here!"

"Sure it is, pal, sure it is."

"Then you get it!" With a frustrated growl Jak pulled himself out from under the car, covered from face to elbows in grease, motor oil and dust. "You're the tiny one here, why do I have to be the one who…" He trailed off, gaze suddenly narrowing suspiciously on the wrench in the ottsel's hand and the mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Daxter shrugged and smiled innocently. "What?"

"You stay small in the garage just so I won't have the heart to thump you when you deserve it, don't you." It wasn't a question.

The smile widened. "Maybe."

In reality he chose to remain ottsel while exercising his vehicular expertise strictly to avoid the problem Jak had just encountered. Orange Lightning's small size made slipping under and around the Javelin X a breeze. Also, all of his mechanics' skills had been acquired post ottseldom, and the tools and parts just felt better in his smaller, furrier hands. Not that Jak needed to know any of this.

Jak, meanwhile, had taken on an uncaring attitude. He went about his business pointedly ignoring the fact that he was being closely watched with naughty intentions, almost as if he were unaware of the small orange creature in his space.

_Hot __damn__ he looks fantastic_, Daxter thought appreciatively, almost purring at the sight. Jak was dirty and mussed, true, but aloof and all but dripping with the feigned haughtiness that befitted a champion racer of his standing… yowza.

Dax shook himself and glanced around surreptitiously. Ashelin, Keira and Torn were a bolt's throw away, huddled over a diagram of the new weapons system that was being installed in Torn's ride. He had to be careful about ogling Jak while they were all out there working, lest he space out and get tripped over.

No one seemed to be paying any attention to him now, though, so he felt justified in teasing his racer just a bit more. Pretending, as Jak apparently was, that he was alone in the garage, Daxter whistled to himself and prepared to get back to work. He did, however, manage to "accidentally" trail his tail along Jak's leg just above the top of his boot. He laughed quietly and scampered back under the car as the green-blonde shuddered almost imperceptibly. Yeah, this trip was _definitely_ more fun.

Dax had one minor complaint, however. Not that it was a _huge _problem, but it was proving more and more difficult to deal with every day.

In the month since he had forcibly shoved things out in the open on the relationship front, Orange Lightning had received more pets, cuddles, and chin scratches than he had formerly gotten in a year. His human form too had been subject to a deluge of playful hair ruffles, full nelsons, and, very covertly, hugs and kisses. He could sleep next to Jak in either form without either of them being unduly worried about the consequences. Together they had learned that Jak's ass was not to be smacked in public and Daxter was not to be swept off his feet bridal-style anywhere near the oily, greasy, slippery garage floor, as bad things would follow either occurrence.

All in all, the whole business was very agreeable to Daxter. Except…

No matter what methods Dax employed to incorporate a little more touchy-feely of the advanced type into their everyday routine, Jak never wanted to up the ante.

_Smooches are fine an' snuggles are dandy, but he's actin' like we got together over hot cocoa an' valentines or somethin'._

The ottsel gave a loose bolt a good twist with the wrench, then a light tap to make certain it would not turn any more. He had made a genuine effort to think about the situation in depth, and still failed to see the point of dragging their feet. Having once gotten much further, he was disinclined to wait around much longer for Jak to take the initiative and advance their physical relationship.

_We could die a horrible, painful, fiery, eco-y death every time we hit the track,_ he thought realistically, dodging a stray drop of oil. _I ain't too keen on bitin' it under any circumstances, but all be damned if I'm goin' out without gettin' all'a Jakkie-boy first! Either he makes a serious move tonight or I do. 'Carpe diem' an' all that, right?_

Satisfied with his private resolution, Daxter again began to whistle lightly and moved on to the next bolt. He was soon interrupted, though, when a booted foot very gently descended on the only part of him not hidden under the car. He twitched his tail slightly, the tip of the trapped appendage easily popping free.

"What up, Jak?"

"The others are heading in for the evening. Wanna pack it in? We got a lot done today."

"I'm good ta go if you are." Dax squirmed out from under, wrench held firmly in his teeth, and proceeded to shake the dust out of his fur. "The undercarriage is set tight. Nothin's gonna come loose under there, no way no how."

"Thanks." Jak's huge palm covered the ottsel's entire head as he fondly ruffled ears and goggles. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up and find something to eat."

Ooh, food. Furry orange ears perked at the magic word.

Quickly wiping down the wrench with a greasy shop cloth and dropping it back into the toolbox, Daxter happily followed his friends out of the garage and into the evening light. He sighed contentedly. Three meals a day, his old body back when he wanted it, tinkering and racing to keep him occupied, and Jak to keep him warm and happy… life could always be better, but not by much. Not very much, at all.

O.O.O.O.O

"Ugh, I'm _covered_ in oil!" Keira laughed, looking herself over in the scuffed mirror over the kitchen sink. "Next time _you're_ going engine diving, Jak, and I'll just tell you what to do!"

"What, an' have the car explode ten feet from the startin' line? Ya gotta be kiddin'!"

Jak snorted in amusement as Keira struggled to wipe some of the oil off her face with a wet napkin, Daxter bobbing and weaving as he tried to keep balance on her much narrower shoulder. "Dax, get down from there. I get the feeling you're not helping very much."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"You can have the shower first, Keira." Jak had to smile. He was talking to the girl, but his eyes couldn't help following Daxter as the ottsel smugly swaggered into the next room. Little brat… He loved it.

"Thanks, Jak, you're sweet." Tossing away the napkin, Keira planted a quick kiss on his dirty cheek before hurrying out. "I'll be fast, I promise. Oh, and Ashelin says we're meeting Rayn and going out for dinner! Try to find something _nice_ to wear."

"Uh… right."

Bemused, the green-blonde slowly headed for the stairs. There wasn't much to be found in the way of wardrobe selection in the tiny bedroom of their converted racing headquarters, especially if Daxter wanted to go sans fur, but he'd try.

Up the rickety stairs, down the drafty hallway, one, two, three doors down… the room he and Daxter shared. Jak flipped on the light and moved to the closet, digging through what clothes he had. As he had feared, no formal evening wear had magically appeared in his small clothing collection.

Dropping down on the edge of the bed, he considered his options. _Hmm… will the girls hate me if I just tuck my shirt in and wipe my boots off before we go…?_

Absently, the racer ran his hands over the blankets on the bed. They had been brought along from the place in Haven to help stave off the chiller Kras nights, but so far they had been largely unnecessary. It was, after all, much warmer in bed nowadays. Most nights Jak would drift off with Orange Lightning sleeping peacefully on his chest or tucked under his chin, only to wake up in Daxter's very human arms. Or with Dax in his arms. Or with both their arms and legs sprawled haphazardly all over the bed and smacking unconsciously at each other for more room. It didn't really matter, as long as Dax was there.

Forgetting all about his current conundrum Jak smiled, remembering the morning after they'd taken that epic leap of faith and had their little talk.

That particular morning he had been sleeping lightly, clutching Dax to his chest, the tip of the redhead's ear caught in his hand. He'd been gently rubbing it with half-conscious fingers, the warm skin feeling like satin. Daxter's happy squeaks and squirms had eventually brought him fully awake and he'd started to stammer a mortified apology, but had been stunned to find it kissed right off his lips.

_What did he say then?_ Jak tried to remember. _Something about me being 'damn cute' when I panic. Ha. And then that night when Torn called from Kras demanding to know where the hell were we and why weren't we there yet, he said I'm 'damn cute' when I'm angry. _The racer grinned, plucking at a loose thread at the edge of one of the blankets. _If he's even half serious every time he says that then I must be the most adorable hero-racer-renegade alive._

"Hey, Jak!" The quick '_thump thump thump_' of what could only be an excitable ottsel bounding down the hallway met the racer's ears, intruding on his musings just seconds before Orange Lightning himself bounced into the room. "Let's get a move on, huh, pal? Hate ta interrupt, but we ain't got all day. Ya can daydream _after_ they drop the filet mignon in front'a me!"

"Right." Jak stood up and stretched, trying not to smile. "I have no idea what I'm going to wear, though."

"Gotcha covered. Torn's gonna lend ya a jacket an' such." Looking pleased, Daxter strolled to the closet and shoved the door further ajar. "An' as fer yer's truly, apparently my gear's still new enough ta qualify as appropriate dinner wear."

Jak turned away quickly at the flashes of eco that heralded his friend's return to standard form. After a moment he could hear clinking hangers in the closet and the 'swish, fwump' of clothing landing on the bed he had just vacated. Sometimes he wished Dax weren't _quite_ so comfortable in states of complete undress…

Without turning back, the green-blonde cleared his throat. "Keira done with the shower yet?"

"I guess. If she ain't now she will be in a minute." There was a silent but nevertheless obviously amused pause from the redhead. "I got the robe on, Jak. It won't kill ya if ya look."

"Er… sure. I knew that." Jak didn't look, though. Instead he set about brushing his hair free of dust and tangles in preparation for washing.

"…hey, Jak?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask ya somethin'…?"

The racer froze, brush pausing mid swipe. Uh-oh. Dax was using that gods-awful singsong tone that never failed to spell trouble. Jak was somehow sure that somewhere behind his back, eyelashes were being fluttered winningly. "Um."

"How come," Daxter asked, suddenly appearing at Jak's elbow, "ya never wanna… ya know… mess around?"

"Well, uh…" Boy, was this an unexpected and astoundingly bad time and place to begin a conversation of that magnitude. "We do. Do stuff, I mean. We kissed just yesterday."

"Nah, I ain't talkin' kiddy stuff." Thin but firm arms twined around the green-blonde's waist from behind. Jak gulped as hands began to pluck restlessly at his belt buckle. "I'm talkin' stuff like we were doin' that first day. I know ya remember that, don'cha? There on our little couch o' lurv, huh…?"

Jak took a deep breath and carefully removed his friend's roving hands. Little teases like this were becoming more and more frequent from the redhead lately. He was still holding firm in his attempts to keep things moving slow and steady, but the blatant advances were starting to wear on the racer's resolve.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to, Dax, it's just—"

"What, ya worried 'cause it's only been a month since we hooked up?"

Jak sighed as Daxter continued to cling like a vine, nuzzling his cheek into the racer's strong back. "Something like that."

"Well don't sweat it, sweetheart. If ya really think about it, what good is datin' anyway? So it lets ya get ta know the other person, figure out how much it pisses ya off when they leave hair in the drain an' don't put the toilet seat down. Big deal. If that's all datin' is we've been doin' it fer years."

"I really don't think that's the same thing," Jak began, but was abruptly cut off as Daxter rose to his tiptoes to gently nip at the end of Jak's ear. Oh, no! Ear nibbles! The green-blonde's mental facilities immediately shut down, his eyes falling almost shut in pleasure. "Ah! Dax, don't. I can't think when… when you… ah…"

"Gimme a kiss, big guy," was the reply that came mumbled around Jak's ear tip as Dax proceeded to completely ignore any and all protests.

"Wait! Dax, knock it off, we don't have time for this—!"

"We can make time. Just an itty bitty bit, Jak, that's all I'm askin'…"

"Sounds to me like more of a demand than a request," Jak gritted. But still… finally… he relented. Moments after he ceased to struggle, the racer found himself being hustled unceremoniously backwards toward the bed. "But come on, Dax, seriously—"

"I know, I know. I'll be gentle with ya, I promise."

"What I am _trying_ to say," Jak nearly yelled before forcing his voice back to a reasonable level, "is… uh… are you sure you really want to go any further? I mean, not like we're going to do anything too deep _now_—" he shot a suspicious look at the innocently whistling redhead who was busy shutting the bedroom door "—but… I guess I just don't want you to think you have to do anything to please me, alright?"

He was a bit put off when Daxter turned away from the door to stare at him like he was insane. "Yer kiddin' about that, right Jak?"

"No I'm not. You said yourself you only got into this in the first place to make me happy." Jak was now cautiously circling the bed, being slowly stalked around its perimeter. "I just want you to be sure that it's still what you want, too. There's no reason to rush it, we can take as much time as—"

"Jak." The green-blonde knew he was in for it when Daxter put his fists on his hips. "In case ya haven't noticed, I've been tryin'a get back in yer pants fer a month! Look at me, I'm chasin' ya around the freakin' bed, here. I totally, definitely, absolutely, unquestionably, want ta hit the sack with ya. Satisfied?"

Jak's ears drooped meekly. "I guess?"

"Yeah, ya guess. Now sit down, ya said yerself we don't have a lot'a time." With that the redhead impatiently shushed him, pushing and pulling until Jak was situated to his liking.

Back in his original spot at the edge of the bed, only now with his friend standing before him in the too-large robe, the green-blonde tried to shake off a sense of unease as Daxter started messing with the lapels of his racing jacket. "You locked the door, right?"

"Um…" There was a pause, another jacket fiddle, then an absent nod. "Yep."

"You're sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." The heavy garment was slid off his shoulders. "Lay back, would ya?"

"Daxter, I mean it," Jak warned as the long fingers against his chest slowly began to push his upper body back against the bed. "Just for a few minutes, so don't start anything too—"

"Jak." The redhead laughed quietly. "Shut up."

Jak did. What else could he do with Dax suddenly leaning over him, hands braced on his shoulders and eager lips pressed firmly against his? The racer's legs were still hanging off the bed, though. As the kiss began Jak swung them the slightest bit, booted feet tapping lightly on the warped floorboards in an attempt to diffuse some of this odd nervous energy.

_Why am I so wound up about this?_ he wondered a trifle worriedly.

Very soon, though, he gave himself a mental shake. It was infinitely more pleasant to think about Daxter's hands trailing along his bare arms and chest, gently stroking his face, and delving quickly into his hair.

_I'm probably just rankled since I know we won't be able to do anything more than this right now,_ he figured. _Gotta concentrate… why fidget and waste the time we have?_

Mind made up, Jak started to kiss back in earnest.

"Guys? The shower's free now. Guys…?"

Jak stopped dead as Daxter all but tore their mouths apart. The redhead's panicked eyes shot from the door (which it now became painfully clear to Jak was not locked) down to their obvious states of excitement and back again. As the creaking footfalls came ever closer, they locked gazes briefly.

"Do _not_ move," Dax growled. Then, before Jak could stop him and just as the door began to swing slowly open, he collapsed against the racer's chest with his head pillowed on a broad shoulder. Shutting his eyes tight the redhead went limp, putting on a convincing performance of innocent sleep as Keira stepped into the room.

Mortified, Jak could not speak, let alone move.

It seemed to take a moment for the girl to register what she was seeing. When she did, though, a wide smile spread across her pretty face. "Aww… he'll fall asleep anywhere, won't he?"

Jak was dumbstruck. _Is she for real? How can she not take this the wrong way? Okay, the wrong way is the right way to take this, but…_

As the racer lay there dumbly with arms over his head and Daxter stretched out on top of him, Keira casually strolled further into the room. Stooping, she scooped up the ottsel-sized, grease- and oil-splattered pants abandoned on the floor, adding them to the collection of apparently dirty clothes and towels draped over her arm.

"I wish you guys would put this stuff in the laundry basket," she hinted with a melodramatic sigh. "I don't want to think about what this floor would look like if I didn't come up here and get it."

Jak didn't answer, staring mutely at the ceiling. He was blushing so hard it literally burned. _Thank you, Daxter. Thank you for getting me into this entire goddam mess. Oh, look, my ears just got so hot I think they spontaneously combusted! Now I'll just lie here and wish quietly for death…_

"You don't have to be so embarrassed, Jak," Keira finally giggled, countering his marked silence. "I wish you could see how sweet you two look. It's just like before. You know, when you were little boys. When we were all back home…"

Jak flinched as she leaned over them to poke affectionately at the tip of his nose and run a hand through Daxter's sunset hair before heading toward the door. "You know what? Don't wake him up. He worked really hard today."

"But…"

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell everyone that you two will meet us at the restaurant later on, so you can just let him sleep for a little longer, okay?"

"S-sure." He forced himself to breath, to answer her civilly. This could work in their favor; no way was he in any condition to come downstairs now. "Thanks."

"Welcome." With a nod and a smile Keira quietly slipped out, carefully pulling the door closed behind her. "See you later."

The green-blonde listened intently as she disappeared down the hallway. He still couldn't quite believe what had happened. All things considered, they'd just gotten insanely lucky. He was still incredibly flushed when Daxter's head lifted off his chest a moment later, curiously looking to the door Keira had just gone through.

"Wow. That was a pretty close one, huh Jak?" he asked conversationally, hands suddenly moving to cup the racer through his dirty jeans. "Good thing she's still pretty naïve. Well, where were we, hot stuff?"

There was a pronounced thud as Daxter hit the floor.

"Don't you _ever_ pull a stunt like that again," Jak growled.

"Hey, you went along with it!" the redhead whined, rubbing certain sore areas that had first made contact with the hard wood of the floor. "Why's it all my fault?"

"Because I told you we didn't have time to get into anything right now, but you talked me into it and started something anyway! And you said you were sure you locked the door!" Not knowing what else to do, Jak opted for grabbing up his brush again rather than giving Daxter the smack he soundly deserved.

The redhead was pouting a bit now, ears drooping. "Would ya feel better if she had figured it out, pal?"

Jak sighed. "No. But my point is, I don't want us in situations where _anyone_ can find out we're together right now. Not that I think Keira will care when we tell her, but the others… that might be different. And we don't need a rift of any kind in the team right now, understand?"

Daxter perked up considerably, accepting both the helping hand off the floor and the loving chuck under the chin offered by the former hero. "Right, I got it. Don't think I don't listen when ya tell me important stuff, sweetheart."

"Good. Don't worry, Dax… you'll get your chance to brag. We'll tell them after the racing's all over and done with." Jak grinned slowly and resumed brushing his hair. "Still… we did pretty much just lie to her, you know. Don't you feel even a little bit sorry for that?"

Daxter looked offended. "Sure I'm sorry."

"You are?"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't ask her ta come play, too! She may be a little slow on the uptake but damn, our little girly friend's still mighty fine!"

Jak rolled his eyes heavenward as Daxter cackled evilly. "You're horrible. You know that, right?"

"I know ya don't sound mad at me anymore. An' goin' by what Keira just said, I also know—" here the redhead's tone dropped once again to a more sultry timbre "—that in just a few minutes we're gonna have this place _aaaall_ ta ourselves. Wadda'ya think'a _that_, big guy?"

"Hmm…" Jak pretended to think it over as Daxter inched closer, reaching out to play coyly with the green goatee. He allowed it when Dax slowly slipped into his arms, and even when lean hips began to nudge suggestively against his own. "I think…"

Daxter grinned back, eyes half shut in smug expectance, their lips barely apart. "Yeah…?"

"I think I'm going downstairs and taking a shower." Ignoring both the discomfort in his pants and the utterly flabbergasted look on his friend's face, Jak stepped away and dug into the dresser for a clean towel. "And then I think we're going to dinner. And after that, I'm pretty sure we're going to apologize to everyone for being late."

He had to smirk as he ducked out into the hall, Daxter's disbelieving shriek echoing after him. Ha. Serve him right. It was about time Dax learned that two could play the teasing game.

"Jak, wait! Ya can't do this, Jak! _Jaaaak!!_"

O.O.O.O.O

"Jak?"

"Yeah?"

"There's… uh, there's a door between us, buddy."

"Yeah, I guess there is."

"I can't get it open, Jak."

"Good. Now we know the lock works."

Daxter sighed, leaning heavily against the bathroom door. First attempt to get Jak in bed: failed. He wasn't about to give up, though, even if it meant stalking the racer into the shower. Fancy food at a ritzy restaurant somehow seemed much less appealing now that the perfect chance for alone time with Jak had presented itself. And, now that Jak knew how serious he was about continuing the whole business, the redhead was sure it would be a snap to persuade him to skip the silly dinner in favor of other, much more fun, activities.

First, though, he had to talk his way past the barrier that separated him from his green-blonde goal.

"So… can I come in?"

"No."

Daxter's face and ears fell. That had a very final ring to it. "Aw, please? We always take a shower together, pal!"

"We do when you're ottsel. Not tonight. I know exactly what you'd do if I opened that door right now."

"I'll be good," the redhead insisted. "Cross my heart. I'll even change back if ya want me to. Just lemme in? Please, Jak? It's cold out here."

There was no response, the rushing water of the shower as it warmed the only sound. Daxter waited with bated breath. Then, finally, a heavy sigh from the other side. Jak unlocked the door and pulled it open slightly, a towel around his waist and half a smile on his face. "Get in here."

With a cheer of victory and a flash of eco, Orange Lightning happily scurried through the small crack offered and into the warm, steamy sanctuary within. "Thanks, pal, ya won't regret it!"

"I better not," Jak grumbled, reaching out to gather up the discarded robe. "You said you'd behave, remember that."

"Yeah, I'll be good," the ottsel promised with an angelic grin. He could only hope Jak didn't see the furry fingers he had crossed behind his back… "Last one wet's a lurker's dinner!"

O.O.O.O.O

It was more than half an hour later when they finally emerged from the bathroom. Jak's flustered blush had returned full force, and it had nothing to do with the humid heat of the shower. Trying his best to refocus his thoughts, the racer busied himself adjusting the length of the sleeves on the jacket Torn had left out for him.

Dax trailed out behind the green-blonde, notably no longer ottsel. Judging by the huge grin on his face, he appeared extremely self-satisfied.

Jak spared his friend a glance and wished he hadn't. That smirk was an infuriating, humiliating reminder of his shameful lack of willpower where Daxter was concerned. "I will never buy your 'I'll be good' again, you know that."

Daxter merely smiled slyly, roughly toweling his thick hair. "It's like they say, big guy. All's fair in love an' war."

Jak didn't respond. The tight black pants of the redhead's racing outfit were riding low and unbuttoned on his sinfully slim hips. Jak forced his eyes away. "Better blow it dry, Dax. Everyone's waiting for us."

"An' they can wait a little longer." Suddenly and without warning Daxter dropped the towel, advanced on Jak, and grabbed his wrist with an air of great purpose. Jak's mouth went immediately dry.

"Dax—?"

"Come on, Jak. You an' I both know we don't need ta be at that dinner."

The green-blonde couldn't think, not with Daxter so close. He couldn't let himself give in again! "Daxter, no. Not now. We have to get over there. Rayn's hosting, she'll want to know all about what we're doing with the cars and our progress tackling the new courses… We can't not show up and piss off our sponsor."

"Sig an' Keira an' the lovebirds'll tell her all about all that stuff." The redhead leaned closer imploringly, bright blue eyes searching Jak's. "They'll never miss us. Let's stay home, pal, grab somethin' outta the kitchen an'…"

Jak shuddered at light grip around his wrist, the pads of his friend's fingers gently brushing his pulse point. Such a light hold… but one he couldn't bring himself to shrug off. Daxter was so slight he seemed almost frail, but with all his strength the former hero couldn't break away. Didn't want to, really.

He thought unbidden of the bed upstairs in the borrowed room that was so much bigger that their own, the old blankets and new pillows brought from home spread invitingly across it already disheveled by their earlier play. Jak was sure that with the slightest word, the tiniest nod of encouragement, Dax would dash up the stairs toward that bed in an open invitation to be chased. Or even better, Jak could scoop him up and take those stairs two at a time, the redhead slung over his shoulder shrieking with laughter until he was tossed onto the sheets and Jak followed him down…

"Jak…?" The barest tug at his captive wrist brought the racer back to reality. That beseeching gaze was still on him. "It'll… it'll probably be awhile before we get another chance like this, ya know? Where we're alone, an' everybody's gone, I mean. Prob'ly not 'til we're back in Haven..."

The others wouldn't be back for hours. The sudden realization of how much freedom they had now, alone together in the empty headquarters, was dizzying. And also more than a little frightening. Right then, at that very moment, Jak had no reason in the world to refuse his friend's silent request.

But… for some reason… he still couldn't say yes.

Jak stared helplessly at Daxter. For a few seconds there was silence, Dax cocking his head searchingly. Finally, though, the redhead chuckled ruefully, releasing the racer's arm. "That's a no, right? Ya don't hav'ta say it, big guy, I can take a hint."

"Dax…" Jak didn't know what to say. His ears listed back miserably.

"Hey, no big deal. Some other time. Dang, then I guess while we're at it I prob'ly ought'a apologize fer pushin' ya so much tonigh—whoa!"

Without fully realizing what he was doing, Jak grabbed his friend and pulled him close, holding him to his chest almost fiercely. Dax shouldn't be the one to apologize here. It wasn't his fault Jak didn't know what he wanted! "Sorry…" he murmured into one curiously twitching ear.

"Jak…?" Daxter returned the spontaneous embrace, but the puzzlement was evident in his cautious tone. Chin resting on the green-blonde's sinewy shoulder, he tried to pull back a bit and see the expression on his friend's face. "You okay?"

"Maybe… I don't know…" Jak tightened his hold and sighed, making the redhead squirm at the puff of warm breath in his ear.

"Ya gotta talk ta me, pal," Dax finally ventured. "I can't know how ya feel if ya don't speak up."

"Believe me, when I know how the hell I feel you'll be the first to know." Jak tried to laugh, but it came out bitter even to his own ears. "I guess... I just keep getting mixed up. First I think we shouldn't screw around, but I don't know why I think that. Then we get started—_you_ get us started—and it's fantastic. It really is, Dax, and I love it. I love everything we do. But then…"

"Then we always wind up gettin' interrupted," Daxter finished with a wry snort. "I agree, that's gotta stop. But, ya know, there ain't anybody here right _now_…"

"I know. So there's no reason for me to feel like we shouldn't…" Jak blushed brilliantly, looking away as his ears drooped even further in obvious embarrassment. "Yeah. Like we shouldn't. But I still can't get over feeling like… like it's just not _time_, you know?"

"No I don't, pal, sorry. I have no idea what yer talkin' about." Jak nearly panicked before the redhead laughed, holding up his hands complacently. "But that doesn't really matter. Now I know yer not ready yet, an' ya finally got the idea that I'm all for it whenever ya _are_ ready. We know the basics, we know what's what. An' that's what counts, right, understandin' each other?"

The racer managed to chuckle weakly. "Tess would be proud of us."

"Yeah, she sure would be." Daxter finally stepped back, laughing. "Speakin'a Tessy-kins, I haven't talked ta her in a couple'a weeks. I better give her a ring when we get back or she'll think we forgot about her."

Jak blinked.

That was it? Dax was willing to accept his verdict and… change the subject? Just let it go? Very softly Jak reached out and caught the redhead's sleeve in two fingers as he tried to turn away. When Daxter looked back at him questioningly, without a trace of annoyance in his eyes, the racer honestly felt like he had done something wrong in breaking the evening's mood. "I'm _really_ sorry, Dax…"

It was a surprise when Dax reached out in turn and grabbed his goatee, tugging his head up and down by it somewhat painfully. "Pal, listen. It's just sex. We've been fine without it 'til now an' we'll be alright without jumpin' each other fer a while longer. Now let it go an' lets go eat before our so-called team puts a bounty on our heads, huh?"

"Right." Jak hurriedly went back to his neglected jacket cuffs while Daxter busied himself finding his new boots. Despite their agreement, though, Jak was still thinking.

_I know he says it's no problem, but it is. He's done all this for me already. I __owe__ it to him to do what he wants! Soon, I have to make myself give in and go all the way __soon__! It's not like that'll really change anything between us at this point… will it?_

He was so busy fretting that he didn't notice the knocking until Daxter yelled at him.

"Jak? Hey, Jak! Get the door, will ya? I can't find my other shoe…"

"Huh?" Coming back to the present, Jak finally registered the polite, yet somehow impatient-sounding knocking from the front of the base. "Oh yeah, sure."

Quickly making his way to the door, Jak wondered. It was strange that someone should be looking for any of them, especially this late in the evening. All the pieces and parts they had delivered to the garage usually came much earlier.

"Sorry, we didn't hear—" His quick apology for keeping whoever it was waiting was cut short as a blinding, choking, stinging cloud of tobacco smoke hit Jak right in the face, immediately making him cough and wheeze. "What the—?!"

"Oh, Ah do apologize, dear boy. Ah had my doubts anyone would get around to answering zee door tonight, or Ah would have exhaled zee other way."

Jak's hackles immediately rose, his guard going up to full alert as he stared down the highly unwelcome visitor. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter heard the row from inside.

"Uh-oh…" In moments he was behind Jak, shoving the taller racer aside with a boney, well-placed elbow to the ribs. "Whoa, Jak! Down, boy!"

Looking highly amused, Razer took a calm drag off his cigarette before dropping and daintily crushing it on the step. "Good evening, Daxter. Just zee rat-boy Ah wanted to see."

"Heya, dickhead," Dax answered agreeably. "What's up?"

The redhead felt pretty silly standing there with only one boot on, firmly holding Jak back to keep him from getting in the intruder's sophisticated face, but hey. Over the last month he had nearly forgotten his demeaning stint cleaning the posh racer's house, and the book he'd borrowed had really helped clear a few things up. The least he could do was be polite to the guy.

"Ah believe you have something of mine that needs to be returned," Razer answered frankly, already rummaging for another smoke. "You aren't zee only one who comes to me for advice on certain delicate subjects, unfortunately. There are others in line."

"Daxter, what the hell is he talking about?" Jak hissed from the sidelines, obviously clueless and hating it. "How does he know who you are human? What did you _accept_ from this dirt bag?"

"Chill out, Jak. It's all under control." Patting the green-blonde's chest soothingly, Dax waved off Jak's concern and motioned the other racer inside. "Cough up the book, gotcha. Ya can come in fer a sec, I guess. No one's home ta break any bones, other than Killer here."

"Ah noticed. Why do you think Ah waited until zee rest of you were gone before paying my leetle visit?"

"Wait a second, how did you know our team isn't here?" Jak was practically growling as his enemy stepped inside their safe zone, and Dax harbored the fleeting hope that his hot-headed friend had the self-control to leave their opposition intact for the next race. Razer wouldn't be all that much fun to challenge on the track if he didn't have all his limbs.

"Ah have my subtle ways."

"You were spying on us!"

"Maybe."

"So there are no witnesses and you walked right onto enemy turf alone. Give me one good reason not to kill you," Jak snarled.

"Alright." Finally locating a lighter, Razer casually lit another cigarette. "There are several good reasons you shouldn't kill me, but zee one that immediately springs to mind eez that your annoying leetle beau doesn't look like he wants you to."

For the first time, Jak seemed to notice that Daxter was putting his whole weight into trying to pull him away by the arm and having absolutely no effect. "Dax?"

"Don't you 'Dax?' me, buster! I told ya ta knock it off!" Flushed in the embarrassment of being ignored, Daxter very nearly stamped a foot. "Yer takin' this all wrong! He lent me that damn book I was readin' a couple weeks ago an' now he wants it back, end of story! He ain't lookin' fer trouble, fer a change."

"Book? You mean the one about…" As realization dawned, Jak balked. "Eww, are you serious?!"

"And are you sure you are following zee instructions correctly?" Razer's smirk widened as he looked the green-blonde up and down. "Dear Jak seems a leetle too… how shall I say this...? S_tressed_ for someone who eez finally getting laid."

Daxter felt his ears go back without his permission. The jerk had been there five minutes and was taking potshots at the condition of their sex life. Still… there was no reason to lie about the obvious. "Yeah, well… 'bout that…"

"Razer… it had to be Razer…" Fortunately Jak, standing frozen with one hand over his face, didn't seem to have heard the comments. "Razer… it's a wonder the whole damn track doesn't know by now… Razer…!"

"Yeah, Razer!" Dax yelled, exasperated beyond measure. "Lemme just go get that, uh, that book…"

"Hmm… don't just yet, mah carrot-topped leetle friend." Surprisingly, Razer airily dismissed the need to rush. Meandering over to the sofa, he propped his feet up on the coffee table and made himself at home. "Ah am sensing something out of place in mah favorite racing brats' relationship. Perhaps there eez something Ah might do to help?"

"Huh? Really?" Amazed, Daxter watched a carefully executed smoke ring dissipate as it floated by. "Ya think ya can help? I mean, I already read the book—all'a it—an' it didn't—"

"The book has facts, boy. _Ah_ have experience."

Daxter unconsciously bit his lower lip, thinking the proposal over. What could Razer do to help? Why would he even care? But… there was always a chance. Could they really afford not to at least listen? That thought settled that.

"Alright. If that's what floats yer boat, I'll tell ya what's up an' we'll see what ya can do. Jak!"

"Huh?" The green-blonde jumped at the sound of his name, seeming to shake off his momentary stupor. "What?"

"Come on, yer way late. Ya gotta get goin' an' get ta that dinner."

"You're right. We've gotten sidetracked enough." Straightening his jacket, the green-blonde motioned Razer off the couch. "You, out! We're leaving."

"Whoa, pal. Hold yer leaper lizards, there." Dax fondly patted his puzzled friend's shoulder, directing him gently toward the door. "I mean, _you_ go ta dinner. Solo."

"What?!"

"I'm gonna stay here an' talk ta this guy fer a while. Just ta see, ya know? He might be able ta tell me somethin' that'd help."

Jak glared, hostility back in full force. "No! Dammit, Daxter, he tried to _kill_ us all! Do the words 'deadly poison' ring any bells? No way in hell I'm leaving you alone with him!"

"Jak, trust me. I can look out fer myself. I mean, I hung out at his place fer hours that night I got the book off'a him an' I'm still alive. Right, jerkface?"

Razer nodded sagely from the couch where he was occupied looking for an ashtray he wasn't likely to find, as no one on the team smoked. "As much as Ah hate to admit it, after a while he was too entertaining to shoot. And he fixed mah sink."

Jak wavered, looking at the clock. Dax had a feeling he knew what was going through his friend's mind. "Look, just go, okay? Just make up somethin' ta tell everybody when they ask where I am. Trust me. I ain't gonna get in trouble. B'sides… in the highly unlikely event of an emergency, I know where yer gun is."

Razer snorted somewhat inelegantly, muttering under his breath. "Of course, it eez always about zee guns… low lives. No finesse whatsoever, you savages!"

"Uh, excuse me? Who was threatening _me_ with a gun when I was at _whose_ place?!"

"Those were special circumstances! Ah had every right!"

"Pfft, as if! Quite makin' up stupid excuses, ya moron!"

"Rat!"

"Nancy!"

Suddenly, against all odds, Jak relaxed almost visibly and managed a muffled laugh.

"Alright, Dax. I guess you do have a handle on this. If you're sure you'll be alright, I'll leave." Almost as an afterthought, though, he put a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "But you know there's probably nothing we can do but wait for me to figure myself out, right?"

"Yeah, buddy, I know." Dax was surprised but pleased at the effect a little quasi-friendly bickering could have on Jak's sense of who was safe to be around and who was not. Helpfully he reached up to adjust the collar on his friend's borrowed jacket. "Don't have too much fun without me, huh? Oh, an' bring me back somethin' tasty."

"Yeah, sure." He wanted to kiss Dax goodbye (or at least, Daxter hoped he did), but with Razer in attendance Jak opted for the classic hair ruffle. "I'll be back soon."

His parting comment lingered like the thinly veiled threat it was as the green-blonde racer gathered keys and wallet and, rather reluctantly, headed out.

Daxter waved absently as the door swung shut, not really sure what he should be feeling. _Hmm… pissed about him tryin' ta baby me like I'm still trapped tiny, furry, an' defenseless, or flattered over him tryin' ta protect me 'cause he's madly in love with me? Hard choice…_

"You must be pleased." Razer's casual remark settled the inner debate. "It's obvious you have quite zee influence over Jak."

"Nah, not really." Dax tried to suppress the fond grin doing its best to weasel onto his face. "He's done that since we were kids, is all. Blows me off most'a the time, the big ass, but if I really want somethin' he'll do it fer me."

"All zee better for you. Now, tell me… what seems to be zee matter here, hmm?"

"I'll tell ya, but ya prob'ly can't do anythin'." Daxter fidgeted, suddenly nervous. What if Razer had seen their situation before and had really bad news? "I mean, I know ya think yer smart an' all, so I'm just warnin' ya…"

"Well then, tell me and we shall see." Very daintily Razer slipped off the sofa, dropped the remains of his cigarette in a dirty coffee cup on the table, and sashayed over to the redhead. Smiling in that disturbing way of his, he slipped a finger under Daxter's chin and raised his somewhat startled face until they made eye contact. "As Ah said before, dear boy, Ah only wish to… _help_ you."

Taking a deep breath, Daxter did his best to ignore the other's close proximity and began his tale of woe. "Well, I guess it really started the day after ya gave me that book…"

Razer smiled, sat back, and listened.

O.O.O.O.O

To be continued…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd)AN: Let us all give thanks during these last few hours of Thanksgiving weekend, for a little spare writing time. I hate the end of this chapter, hate it with a passion, but I had to finish it before semester finals have a chance to start and immobilize all my free time until mid December. I hope you guys at least find it satisfactory. As before, the unedited version can be found in the Jak section on AdultFanFiction dot net... or it will be found there when I finish it. Which shouldn't take too long. If you're old enough and so inclined, do please check it out.

Another small note… Yes, be prepared for the fic to be longer than I thought it would be. At least one more chapter here, maybe two, and however many we end up with here there will always be one more on AFF.

Aaaaaaaaand… are we all done? Yes, we are! Soooo, on with the outtakes!

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: Is it just me, or have the kid and the rat been acting really weird since we got here?

Ashelin: Yeah, I guess you could say that. They keep staring at each other in the garage.

Keira: I've noticed it, too. And Jak's been really nervous lately…

Sig: You all don't suppose…?

Torn: (screams) Oh my God, the rat's turned carnivorous! It's gonna eat Jak!

O.O.O.O.O

Keira: ((giggle)) You don't have to be so embarrassed, Jak. It's just like before. You know, when you were little boys.

Daxter: (sits bolt upright) Little?! Ya call this little, toots? How 'bout _that_, is that little?! Huh?!

Keira: EEEEK!! Perverts! (slaps them both and runs away crying)

Jak: ((dies))

O.O.O.O.O

Ottsel Dax: ((nibble nibble))

Jak: (laughs) Dax, stop biting my ear! It tickles!

Dax: Mmm, can't help it, big guy. Ya look good enough ta eat. ((purr))

Jak: ((happy blush))

Torn: (points and screams) He's doing it! He's trying to eat Jak!

Keira: ((cry)) Nooooooo, Jaaaaak!!

Dax: Wha?!

O.O.O.O.O

Jak: What the _hell_ are you doing here?

Razer: Well, Jak, Ah must confess. Since getting to know dear Daxter Ah can't seem to get him out of mah head, and at last Ah could not stay away any longer. Dare Ah say it…? Yes, yes Ah do! (drops to one knee with a bouquet) As crazy as it sounds, Ah am in love with Daxter!

Jak: … ((blink blink))

Dax: ((blush)) Aww, really? (flutters eyelashes)

Jak: Oh hell no.

O.O.O.O.O

Ashelin: Alright rat, if you promise not to try to eat any more team members, we'll untie you and take the muzzle off.

Keira: (soothingly) Don't worry, Jak, you don't have to be afraid any more! He won't do anything bad to you again.

Ottsel Dax: ((pissed off muffled noises))

Jak: ((sigh)) If only you knew…


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** How did this fic get to be so long?! I can't understand it… ten chapters already… (wobbles woozily) Might as well get started. Reviewers, some of you are slacking. Naughty, naughty. But for those of you who continue to review, thanks a million!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Jak and Daxter, I'd die of happiness. Currently I'm still alive, so I guess that must mean they belong to someone else. And of course, I'm not profiting off them.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jak was prepared for the deluge of queries and curses that immediately began to fly when he finally arrived at the restaurant and was shown to the team's table. He was also prepared for the inevitable truth that all the dinner rolls and other appetizers would be gone.

"Well, look who decided to show."

"Finally!"

"Jak, we were getting _worried!_"

"Where the heck _were_ ya, Cherry?"

Jak huffed, sliding into his seat and grabbing a menu to hide behind. "Sorry, sorry… I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, yes you are." Surreptitiously Rayn glanced at her elegant wristwatch. "And it's only been… thirty minutes since the rest of us were seated. Bravo. I commend your punctuality."

Behind the menu, Jak had the decency to blush. Oh… but the activities that had distracted him had been so worth being slightly tardy for. No regrets, then. None whatsoever.

"Don't bother looking, we ordered you both the special," Torn informed him. "If you don't like it, tough."

"You're so kind." Jak was fully prepared to go head to head in a (politely subdued) argument with the dreadlocked man when Keira caught his attention.

"Jak? Where's Daxter?" she asked, half turning in her seat next to him to glance at the door as if the redhead might suddenly appear.

Damn. He should have known the absence of Dax either by his side or on his shoulder would be immediately noticed. The racer weighed his options before telling her the quasi-truth. "He didn't want to come."

"The rat didn't want to come out for food? That's a first."

"Shut it, Torn."

Rayn discreetly tapped her wine glass with a fork, pointedly calling a halt before the issue could escalate. "Quiet, everyone. Now that our lead racer at least is in attendance I think we should begin, preferably before the food arrives." There was no further objection. "Alright, then. First, I'd like an update on all the upgrades that have been added to your vehicles. I have documentation of the expenses and I'd like to make sure everything has been recorded accurately."

"I brought a list of all the parts we received," Keira supplied helpfully, digging into her bag. "Daxter and I wrote down everything that's come in so far and what we've done with it."

"Excellent! Let's see."

So the serious business began, and Jak officially tuned out. Keira would take care of all the little details as only a top mechanic could, and they wouldn't need his input until they went over strategy and tactics planning. He could afford to zone out while pretending to scan the dessert menu. After all, he had a lot to think about.

What he and Dax had done that evening was… wow. The green-blonde flushed behind his menu barricade. In the span of a single evening he had gone from wondering if Daxter truly wanted to go any further with him in the bedroom at all to almost having to beat the redhead off of him. Jak grinned crookedly despite himself. That Daxter's trademark romantic tenacity would ever be directed toward him rather than some woman with ample assets was nothing short of a miracle, and it had taken his friend's almost aggressive assertiveness that night to convince the racer it was true.

Honestly he hadn't wanted to make Dax stop, despite not yet wanting to go all the way. What he wouldn't have given to have been somewhere far away, all alone with Daxter, free to take as long as they wanted to kiss and touch and explore. Especially explore…

"Psst! Jak! Are you okay?"

A nudge from Keira's elbow brought the racer rocketing back to the present. "Y-yeah… yeah, I'm fine," he managed to whisper back.

She peered concernedly back at him, head cocked curiously to one side, obviously not convinced. Keeping her voice low, she continued to question him. "Are you sure? You're acting a little… strange. You had a really weird look on your face."

"Did I?"

"Jak, did something happen between you and Daxter?"

The green-blonde felt himself immediately blushing hotly and hoped to high heaven she couldn't see it in the dim light of the candlelit dining area. Luckily, no one else was paying any attention whatsoever to their whispered conversation. "Uh… no, not really. What do you mean?"

"Did you two get in a fight?" She gazed at him suspiciously, absently twisting the napkin in her lap as she tried to determine if he was telling the truth. "I know how you two get sometimes. You can't tell me that him not coming along with you isn't weird as heck."

Jak was about to answer when Rayn motioned in his direction and caught his eye.

"Jak? Would you care to share your strategy for the next race with us so that your teammates will know what to expect?"

Shrugging noncommittally, he secretly welcomed the interruption. Sometimes Keira was much too astute for her own good. "Oh, I figure I'll just get in front as soon as I can and shoot whoever tries to pass me."

Across the table Sig snorted softly in amusement and feigned pity. "Ah, the confidence of youth. Well, if that's what ya wanna do I'm behind ya all the way, chili pepper. I guess the rest of us can probably manage to keep most of 'em off your tail until ya get across the finish line."

Rayn nodded approvingly, tapping one carefully painted fingernail lightly against the pad of paperwork in front of her. "That's good. Always watch each other's backs, but remember to keep yourself in one piece, too. Try not to concentrate so much on your teammates that you let yourself get into trouble."

"Easy for you to say," Ashelin grumbled.

The blue-haired woman shot her a warning glance. "Now, then, with all that said… I don't think I have to tell you how fierce the competition will be this time around. Do _not_, under any circumstances, let your guard down. Also. I know you're all thinking it, so I'll just say it openly… word everywhere is that this Razer fellow is especially, _extremely_ dangerous. If you're going to be wary around someone, it might as well be him and those cronies of his."

Jak's ear twitched. He coughed, shifting minutely in his seat.

"Ya know, it's kind of surprising…" Sig mused absently as a waiter came by to top off their drinks. "He really doesn't look much like the vicious type. More like a fashion designer than a racer, if ya ask me." Torn sniggered.

"That's because you're used to wastelanders who don't beat around the bush." Rayn smiled wryly. "I'm finding that in the racing world, it's almost never better to present everything you've really got. Don't underestimate Razer. He is, after all, under Mizo's thumb."

Jak was fidgeting in earnest now, shuffling his feet uneasily beneath the table. _I left Dax alone with him…_

"Don't worry, Rayn." Torn was grinning confidently as he covertly slipped an arm around the back of Ashelin's chair. "No way would we be caught dead trusting anything that gangster slime says or does."

Ashe nodded, leaning into the casual embrace just the slightest bit. "He reeks insincerity. Like he's smiling for your face and getting a knife ready for your back. We won't let ourselves be fooled."

Jak was now decidedly uncomfortable. Daxter _did_ seem to really trust Razer. But if the rest of the team was right, and the suave racer was nothing more than a snake in the grass… Despite his best efforts, the green-blonde's imagination was beginning to kick in with thoughts of guns, knives, poison, all manner of nasty devices. Hell, the slight redhead probably wouldn't even be strong enough to ward off a simple hand-to-hand attack.

_There's no one else even close to the garage,_ Jak realized. _Dax says he can handle himself, but he's never been in a real fight. He's never had to defend himself before. If he ever __did__ need help…_

He could almost see it. Daxter alone with their enemy in the deserted garage, completely and naïvely trusting. He might have his back to Razer, rambling on obliviously while the gang member smiled devilishly, slowly sneaking up behind him…

Jak could feel himself breaking into a cold sweat and shook his head viciously to clear it. _Wait a minute. What am I thinking? Daxter is __fine__. He can handle himself. Besides… Razer's got no reason to try to hurt him. He knows Dax doesn't race and Keira is our lead mechanic, so the team wouldn't cease to function without him. What would Razer __gain__ from it? He wouldn't waste his time trying to hurt Dax if he didn't stand to profit off it somehow._

He almost felt better until Keira began to laugh.

"But, all that aside," she giggled, hands coming up to partially cover her inexplicably blushing face. "Don't you think Razer's pretty… handsome?"

The entire table froze, shocked, before Rayn did something entirely unexpected. She smirked slyly, an expression no one had ever seen from her. "Now that you mention it… I must say I agree. He is quite the devious little piece of eye candy, isn't he? Pity he almost surely swings the other way."

Ashelin burst out laughing, startling Torn who still had his arm around her. "Gay is right! Undeniably gay. But he's still a hot bastard, if you know what I mean." The expression on Torn's face was unreadable. "He's probably got all the girls and half the guys in the racing circuit after him!"

Jak chuckled, took a drink… and almost choked on his glass of sparkling ice water as the blindingly obvious abruptly hit home. Precursors, of course! That was Razer's motive!

_How could I have missed it? How? _The green-blonde racer stared dumbly into space, everything suddenly making perfect sense. _Of course he's gay. Why else would he have that book? Why else might he know how to help us with our weirdo relationship? Why else would he want to be alone with Daxter?!_

He could see it all clearly now. Dax's sunset hair, his sparkling blue eyes, the mischievous grin and snippy, sarcastic attitude… the redhead was cute, plain and simple, and all at once Jak realized something that should have scared him from the start. If Dax began going about in human form as opposed to animal, then he, Jak, would not be the only one who would notice those quirky charms, childhood friendships notwithstanding. And Razer had most assuredly seen Dax human…

If Razer had somehow taken a shine to his friend, even going so far as to entertain him in Mizo's team's garage and loan him informational material of a personal nature, that could very well mean…

_How could I have been so stupid? Dax never even glanced at a guy that way before he figured out how I feel. He'd never suspect an advance from another man. Something like that would catch him completely off guard—_

In his mind's eye he saw Daxter caught completely unawares, slammed up against a wall in the darkened garage with shock plainly visible in his wide eyes. He might fight vainly as Razer roughly pinned thin arms over his head, shock and anger turning to fear as he slowly realized the danger he was in and cried out to Jak for help… Jak, who wasn't there to hear him scream.

Jerking himself back to reality, the former hero swore under his breath and forced himself to loosen the death grip he had on his napkin. _Okay, stop it. Just stop it. Don't think horrible things like that. No way would Daxter let something like that happen to him. He'd fight back, he'd shoot Razer's preppy ass, he'd—_

—struggle valiantly, but be completely powerless against the bigger, stronger man. 'Get off me, asshole! I only want Jak!' he would yell. But Razer would only smirk, insolently gripping Daxter's captive wrists. 'Then it eez indeed too bad zat Jak isn't here, dear boy…' Dax would be scared but determined not to show it, gritting his teeth and clenching frightened eyes shut, turning his face away to hide the building tears…

_Damn it, no!_ Jak screamed at himself. _That wouldn't happen! It wouldn't! It—_

—would entice the gangster, make him chuckle darkly as he harshly tugged Daxter's chin back up to face him. And despite Dax's most frantic efforts to keep them closed, Razer would shove a knee between the helpless redhead's thighs…

_NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, __no!_ _Not happening! _Straightening abruptly, determined to ignore these irrational fears, Jak firmly turned his attention back to the conversation at the table. He immediately wished he hadn't.

"I can't see how anyone wouldn't be attracted to him, really," Rayn was saying, cheeks tinged a light rosy pink as she finished off her third glass of wine. "The way his hips sway is quite… intriguing."

Sig and Torn looked incredibly uncomfortable, obviously wishing dearly to be somewhere else. Jak couldn't say he blamed them. In light of his recent internal dilemma, the girls' train of thought was absolutely disgusting. He couldn't help pulling a face to accentuate his distaste.

"Yeah," Keira giggled, clutching the long stem of her own glass with both hands. "And I heard he won't even let anyone else work on his car. He's a champion racer but he does all the upgrades and maintenance work on it himself, and gets all dirty and everything! What mechanic in their right mind wouldn't admire that?"

It took a moment for the comment to sink in. When it did, though, a cold chill unlike any other wormed its way down Jak's spine. _Daxter is a mechanic…_

The moment the thought registered he tried to dismiss it as ludicrous. Dax admire Razer? How absurd. Razer was rude, arrogant, presumptuous, and a bad loser. Other than his debatably pleasing physical features, as far as Jak was concerned there was nothing there to admire. Besides… Daxter was straight. It all boiled down to that. The redhead didn't like men.

_Oh, but Jak…_ a tiny voice inside him seemed to whisper. _Daxter doesn't seem to have a problem liking you. Aren't __you__ a man?_

_Well, yeah,_ he answered it uncomfortably. _But it's not the same. I'm different. Dax said so. He said he made an exception for me, and I'm making sure it's worth his while. He won't regret giving me a chance._

_Oh really?_ The voice seemed amused. _So I suppose your idea of 'making it worth his while' is stringing him out for a month and then pushing him away when you finally get the perfect opportunity to roll him through the sheets?_

_No! _Jak balked. _That's not—I mean, I didn't—_

_Do you really think he's going to wait around forever? Hell no, he won't. He'll go back to Tess. He'll find another girl. Or maybe…_ The sneer in the voice was unmistakable. _Now that he knows that it's possible… your dear, 'straight' little best friend might just decide to see what other guys can offer._

Jak froze at the thought. As if a floodgate had broken, all of his earlier frightening imaginings came rushing back. This time, though, they were worse. Much worse. To his mounting alarm he helplessly watched the scene in his mind play on, seemingly unable to make the morbid slideshow stop.

'Poor leetle thing,' Razer might sneer as he pressed closer to his smaller, softly whimpering captive. 'So in denial. Do you not realize zat you are poised to discover zee delights zat only a man can provide, and zee one you think you want refuses to oblige you? I can show you what Jak will not…' He would lean forward, still holding onto Daxter's chin forcefully, until his smirking, nicotine-laced lips pressed against the redhead's.

Still Jak couldn't stop thinking the worst. _Get the hell away from him!_ he wanted to rage, unreasoning anger toward the posh racer in his mental images growing steadily within him. _He's mine! No one else can do that!_

His subconscious ignored him. No doubt Razer would next shove his tongue into Daxter's mouth, he thought, feeling physically ill at the idea of it. Dax would surely kick and struggle in outrage but would at last be forced to give in to the inevitable, finally going limp in defeat and moaning slightly in despair… or, just possibly, pleasure. The invading knee between his legs would start to move and he might slowly begin to rock against it…

Jak wanted to hurl.

"It's his smile that gets me," Keira carried on, oblivious to her old friend's state of extreme discomfort. "All dark and mysterious."

Rayn nodded dreamily, beginning to lean forward across the table without looking like she was aware of it. "The cigarettes. It's the way he holds the cigarettes. So haughty, so unconcerned… lovely."

Razer would let go of Dax's arms, now, and they would fall—perhaps fall right around the racer's neck. The redhead would squeak and squirm as infuriatingly bold hands skimmed down his sides and settled on the waist of his pants. 'Ya know I was waitin' fer Jak,' he might mutter, shifting reluctantly under the touch… but no longer trying to break away.

_Stop… stop… stop…_ Jak thought desperately, his hapless salad fork bending slightly in the crushing power of a white-knuckled grip. _Stop…_

'Then I am afraid you will be waiting for quite a long time.' Sensing an opening, the gangster would not pause in his blatant advances. 'It eez clear Jak doesn't even know what it eez he wants. But you, dear boy… you need attention _now_. Look how desperate you are, how you cling to me. Let me _help_ you, Daxter.' Dax would waver, look uncertain… and then slowly relent, legs slipping further apart. Over Razer's triumphant chuckle the redhead might sigh quietly, regretfully. 'I just wish Jak would'a done this first…'

_Stop stop stop stop… _Jak was twitching. He couldn't help it. More sweat had broken out on his brow. He desperately wanted to leave, leave immediately, run back to their headquarters and prove to himself that all these stupid imaginings were just that. But…

"Thank the Makers, here comes dinner." Jak hadn't heard Sig sound that relieved since… well, it had been a long time. He couldn't blame the big man, though, not at all. The distraction of the arriving food was just what he needed.

_Just eat_, he schooled himself firmly as a plate of hot, juicy steak and perfectly sautéed vegetables was placed in front of him. _Calm down and eat. Then when we're finished we'll all go back to the garage together, and you'll see that Dax was never_—

—on his back, on the floor, clothes pulled off—

A spark of black flashed through the former hero's bright blue eyes. He bit down hard on a sudden rumbling growl, hoping against hope he could blame the sound on his empty stomach. _Stop stop stop stop stop_—

—hands on pale, trembling skin, trespassing on Jak's territory—

"He could take this machine for a spin any day!" Keira grinned widely and wiggled, cutely flirtatious, in her chair, making Rayn and Ashelin giggle crazily and Jak flinch with the effort of keeping his anger concealed.

"Cherry?" Ever observant, Sig had stopped with a fork halfway to his mouth and was staring intently at the green-blonde. "You okay? Jak…?"

Jak wanted to answer, to assure his teammate that everything was fine, but he couldn't seem to unclench his teeth, was unable to stop gritting them together almost painfully as the canines lengthened and he pictured—

—Daxter panting, rocking, moaning—

The racer's hands twisted into fists, suddenly sharp nails digging brutally into his palms. _Stop stop stopstopstop_—

"I mean, if he hit on you," Ashelin's oblivious laugh, "how would you say no?"

—sweating, squirming, arching, crying out a name that wasn't Jak's—

"STOP!!" Jak's fist crashed down on the table, china and crystal rattling alarmingly under the jarring impact of the blow. Keira jumped, Rayn dropped her glass, and Torn threw a protective arm in front of Ashelin as the racer abruptly surged to his feet. The room went dead quiet as, without a word of explanation, Jak stalked through the crowd of startled wait staff and out the door.

Food could wait. The rest of the meeting was unimportant. His real business lay back at the garage, where a certain slimy gangster would shortly be receiving a very nasty surprise…

O.o.O.o.O

It took a few seconds for the shock of Jak's outburst and subsequent exit to fade. When it did, though, conversation resuming throughout the elegantly decorated dining room, Rayn calmly raised a hand to signal a waiter. "Wrap up this dinner and the extra, if you please. We'll be taking them to go when the rest of us have finished. Oh, and I seem to have spilled my drink. Bring us another bottle."

"What in the name of Mar is wrong with that kid?" Disgruntled, Torn stared at the door the green-blonde had so recently stormed out of. "I thought for a second we were gonna have the eco monster loose in here."

"He and Daxter had a fight," Keira informed matter-of-factly. A chorus of groans immediately rose from the team.

"Are you serious? That's what that was about?" Ashe scoffed. "So mature, Jak…"

Rayn sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, then I suppose it's no wonder he couldn't concentrate on the small matter of winning the next round of races. That little loudmouth is his life."

"Don't worry about it," Sig reassured. "Those two are tight. They'll make up and get over it in no time."

"Oh, really?" Torn snorted, a smirk growing on his chiseled face. "The kid's under the rat's thumb. I bet you ten Precursor orbs that Jak started it, Daxter gets the last word, and we find Mr. Can't Hold His Temper sleeping on the sofa when we get home."

Sig grinned right back. "Oh, you're on, cherry. Bet you twenty everything's fine and they're stretched out on the sofa watchin' TV together by the time we get back."

"Well I bet both of you _fifty_ Precursor orbs we find them making out on the sofa when we get back, whether or not they've made up!" Keira threw in. "You guys wouldn't _believe_ what I walked in on earlier this evening…"

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter writhed and squirmed on the couch, moaning pitifully. "Yeah! Yes, yes, that's it! That's it right _there!_"

Razer watched the spectacle calmly from an armchair across the room, puffing steadily away at his current smoke. "You know, you don't have to be so melodramatic."

With an indignant huff, the redhead rolled off the sofa and hit the carpet with a thump. "Cut a guy a break, will ya?" he muttered petulantly, pulling the small pillow that had accompanied him on the fall over his head. "Can't ya see I'm in the middle of an extensive personal crisis, here?"

The racer snorted, smoke curling lightly from both nostrils. "Be zat as it may, zee only response Ah required from you was a simple 'yes, you're right, zat sums up zee extent of zee problem.' Not a full-blown tantrum."

Dax pushed the pillow aside in order to flip the older man off, then resumed moping. Despite himself, Razer smiled.

"Still…" He took a thoughtful drag from the cigarette, then breathed out slowly as he pondered. "Ah must agree zat you have been through zee wringer since we last met. Zat Jak should have desired your romantic love so much and yet still be unwilling to cross zat particular line is very strange. Ah would have thought he would have been all over you, especially since you went out of your way to give such an alternate relationship a chance in zee first place."

"Tell me about it… Wait a second. Ya don't think it's me, do ya?" Dax suddenly clutched the pillow to his chest and struggled upright, gazing at the gangster imploringly. "Ya don't think he doesn't want me anymore, right? Ya don't think he changed his mind?"

"In light of everything you have told me, Ah find zat highly unlikely. He still pets your rat form, hugs you, kisses you, dotes upon you… and he responded quite nicely to your advances this evening, correct?"

"Yeah." The relief in the redhead's voice was nearly tangible even through the smug, I'm-about-to-boast-some-more tone. "Once I got him too horny ta think, he loved every wakin' minute of it. Not ta brag, but—"

"Alright, zat is enough." Rolling his eyes eloquently, Razer firmly waved off whatever was about to be said and stood up from his chair to pace the length of the room. "Ah don't need to hear another account of zee sordid details. Now, moving on to more important matters. We still need to determine why dearest Jak continues to deny you, yes?"

"Yes." Daxter nodded emphatically, moving back up to the sofa with the decorative throw pillow in tow. "That would be exactly what we need ta determine."

"Let us get down to brass tacks, then. We know for certain zat Jak loves you very, very much. We know zat he wants a physical relationship with you very, very badly. And we know zat for some reason, he eez holding himself back from zee aforementioned relationship. Now zee question eez, why? Why would zee boy do such a foolish, and might Ah add _painful_, thing as restrain himself when you, zee object of his desires and affections, are unquestionably his for zee taking?" Razer increased the speed of his pacing, a frown creasing his features. "It just does not add up."

"I thought fer a while it was because he didn't think I wanted it," Dax supplied, "but now that's just stupid. He damn well knows what I want. So, I guess that means he's not holdin' back fer my sake anymore."

"Hmm." The gangster puffed away faster at his ever-present smoke, frown deepening. "It almost sounds to me like he eez frightened."

Dax quirked a brow before laughing uproariously, falling backwards over the arm of the sofa in his hilarity. "Yer kiddin' me, right? Jak, the hero, the bad boy, the lurker-KG-metalhead killer, scared'a havin' _sex_? No way! Ah, damn, that's funny…"

Razer was not amused. "If you are quite finished. It makes perfect sense, does it not? Obviously,_ something_ eez making him wary. And it seems zat zee harder you push, zee more he draws back from you…"

"But why would he be bent up about somethin' like that?" The redhead was completely baffled. "'Specially with me? I'm his best pal! We've done a million scarier things together than _that_."

"Perhaps it eez not zee act itself he eez afraid of." Razer paused, flicking some wayward cigarette ash off the sleeve of his tailored racing coat. "You say you and Jak have done scarier things, boy. How long have zee two of you known each other?"

Daxter shrugged. "Forever. Since we were just real little brats. Why?"

"And you must have done a lot together, then?" he pressed, ignoring the question. "You still like to explore, Daxter, try new things, yes?"

"Yeah, sure. Just so long as I don't get eaten, drowned, blown up, crushed, caught on fire, run over, fall ta my death… other than that, yeah, I like tryin' new stuff. Me an' Jak, we explored all'a time back then—"

"And you are always with Jak, have _always_ been with Jak. You mean a great deal to him, Ah assume? You plan to continue to be together for quite a long time to come?"

"I'll never leave the big guy." Dax's answer was completely honest and completely certain. "No matter what happens between us. I mean, don't get me wrong, I want this ta work out, but… even if we hav'ta go back ta bein' just best friends, I ain't goin' anywhere. That's what yer gettin' at, right?"

"Correct." The racer nodded approvingly. "Good answer. But now, mah ratty leetle friend… taking all zat into consideration, kindly imagine how darling Jak might feel."

"How Jak feels?" The redhead frowned in confusion. "Jak feels the same, I guess."

"And zat is where you are making your biggest mistake, boy!" Razer aimed an impatient swat in his errant disciple's direction, luckily with the non-cigarette hand. "Never assume zat your feelings are mirrored by zee other. I want you to just sit there and think about zis for a moment."

Daxter grumbled under his breath, but nevertheless settled down obediently. "A'right, I'm sittin'. So tell me what I'm thinkin' about, now, Smokey?"

"You are thinking about what Jak might be thinking, stupid. Now, picture zis. You are Jak."

"I'm Jak. Okay. What else?"

"You are Jak, and you are also zee happiest man alive."

"Ooh, I'm likin' the sound'a that!"

"You are so happy," Razer continued, "because zee person you care for most in zee entire world… your closest companion who never leaves your side… zee one you love as more than a friend, more than a brother… zee one zat you never dreamed would return your feelings… they have agreed to be your lover. Are you still picturing?"

"Yep." That sounded about right. Dax smiled, closing his eyes to better imagine everything.

"Good. Now… imagine zat zee real world has suddenly cut into your leetle happy-happy land. Once zee initial bliss of finally getting a chance to have what your heart most desires wears off, you begin to think realistically. And you start to wonder. Could zis all be just fun and games for your friend, a safe way to try something new? And when zee final step eez taken and zee novelty of being in a new kind of relationship begins to fade, will he wander away to something else…?"

Daxter's happy vibe immediately disappeared. "Hey, wait a minute—"

"No, dear boy, keep imagining. Imagine zat you, Jak, finally relent. You make love, cross zat last line. And then… your love decides zat zee whole 'gay' thing eez just not for him. He would like to be simple friends again, please and thank you. He moves on to a lovely lady. And you… you burn for him more than ever. You know what it eez like to hold him, love him, and now he eez out of your reach forever. Your closest friend, right there beside you, through thick and thin, day in and day out… and untouchable. So. _Now_ how do you think Jak feels?"

Daxter's heart, stomach, and myriad other important-type internal organs sank. "Jak's… afraid I'm gonna get bored with him after we have sex…?" His ears dropped pitifully. "Ya really think that's what he thinks?"

Razer shrugged casually. "Ah have no idea. Zis eez all pure speculation."

"Ass," Dax hissed, pitching the pillow at the racer's smirking face. "Don't do that ta me! Ya had me really worried there!"

"Look, all Ah am saying eez zat it eez possible. It eez very likely he might be worried zat you will lose interest once zee two of you finally go to bed and you have nothing more to look forward to. Or he might even be worried zat _he_ won't enjoy it as much as he hopes he will. It could be any number of things."

"But I'm not gonna… I mean, that's just… do ya think I have a five-year-old's attention span or somethin'?!" The redhead was beyond annoyed. He wasn't an idiot, damn it! Well… not usually. "I'm not in this thing with Jakkie-boy fer the entertainment value, alright? Heck, I could'a cheerfully gone my whole life without havin' any idea about the junk goin' on in that book. The one, and the _only _reason I did any'a this, is because I love that guy. Just him. Not some other dude, not some chick, _him_. Jak, pal, ya dig?"

"Believe me, Ah dig," Razer smirked. "But, much more importantly, Jak must also 'dig.' While you were busy forging ahead and blazing new trails zis evening, did it ever occur to you to reassure Jak zat you wanted more from it all than a leetle fun? Did you even once during all zat time tell him zat you love him?"

"Well sure I…" But then, Daxter had to pause. He thought back, trying to remember. Sure he had been overflowing with love and affection for the green-blonde before, during, and after their intimate activities, but had he ever opened his mouth and actually said as much? "No, wait… I didn't. Not once. I—I just… never even thought about it." The redhead abruptly felt like a heel. "Aww dammit, I'm such a moron!"

"Exactly. Jak cannot read your mind, boy, so you must _tell_ him how much he eez loved. And showing him strictly through physical contact is not acceptable. Love and lust are two different things." With great finality, Razer extinguished his cigarette on top of the expensive TV set. "So, that said, mah final words of wisdom to you, Daxter, are these. Prove to your friend zat you are in for zee long haul. Assure him zat your love and devotion rivals his own. Once he realizes zat you too are playing for keeps, odds are he will fall into your arms. Voila, you are both happy."

"Yeah, but how do I do that? I've never been what ya'd call the, uh, serious type. How do I make the big guy believe me?"

"Again, Ah have no idea." With the utmost nonchalance, the gangster flipped the lid of his lighter back and forth. "Zat depends on Jak. Time and good behavior may be zee only way to win your hero over. Though… Ah have heard zat gifts may be employed as well. A nice watch? One of a pair of matching rings, perhaps…?"

"Presents, huh?" Daxter grew silent in thought. What could he possibly offer Jak that would prove his love and loyalty? He didn't have any money for nice shiny gifts, and Jak's rough-and-tumble lifestyle would probably destroy any decorative sparklies that weren't utterly necessary to his regular wardrobe anyway. But still, there had to be _something_…

Then, suddenly, Dax had an idea. Slowly he turned back to Razer. "Does it hav'ta be somethin' material?"

"What's zat?"

"I said, does the gift hav'ta be somethin' solid ya can hold?" There was a strangely eager light in the redhead's eyes.

The taller racer thought it over, tapping the newest cigarette in concentration and completely disregarding the ash that fell to the floor. "No, Ah don't think so. Ah suppose it can be anything zat you think would hold deep meaning to Jak. Why? Do you have an idea?"

"Yeah, I do. What if I gave Jakkie-boy somethin' _really_ special, somethin' no one else ever could? Somethin' he had once an' never thought he'd ever get back?"

Jak's big surprise. Of course. He had been planning it since the discovery of his Precursor powers, been working on it diligently and with great success. He had also been very near a breakthrough… until a certain unspoken confession of love had diverted one hundred percent of his attention to more urgent matters. But now…

_This'll work_, he thought excitedly, suddenly unable to keep still. _It's gotta work! Jak'll love this, I know he will. He'll be all happy-like, an' I'll tell him how much I really really wanna stay with him, an' then—!_

"Are you alright? You look like you are about to hyperventilate." Razer stared curiously at the quivering redhead. "Here. Have a drag and calm yourself before you have a stroke."

Daxter was unprepared for the cigarette that was suddenly shoved into his mouth. Gagging on the resulting lungful of acrid smoke, he promptly spit it out. "Damn it, what're ya tryin'a do ta me?!"

"Relax you."

"Are you kiddin'? That's nasty!" Still coughing, Dax rubbed spastically at his mouth, lip curling at the taste. He didn't have time for this. "I'd cut out puffin' those things if I was you, pal. You'll have a stroke _way_ before I do." Straightening up, he brushed self-consciously at his slightly wrinkled clothes. "Well, I gotta get ta work. Thanks fer the help an' all, I guess."

With a catlike smile the gangster began to preen, slicking his hair back even further and fastidiously straightening his tailored racing jacket. "But of course, dear boy. Anything for you and Jak. But now… let us discuss something zat you can do to help _me_."

Daxter sighed deeply. "How did I know that was comin'…? A'right, I'll do somethin' for ya. Waddaya want?"

With a triumphant smirk and a flourish, Razer reached inside his coat and pulled out a small envelope. "Give zis to your team manager. Zat's all Ah ask."

"Rayn?" Curiously, Dax accepted and looked over the piece of mail. "What is it?"

"Zat is none of your…" Razer trailed off. "Stop looking at it like it eez something to eat! Don't you dare open zat, do you understand me? It eez a private matter!"

Teasingly, Dax picked lightly at the seal with one fingernail. "Come on, Smokey. Ya can tell me. Don't make me rip this baby open the second ya leave, now…"

It was a losing battle. Wisely, the racer opted to just spill the beans. "I have composed a short letter to Miss Rayn zat I would like you to deliver for me. Zat eez all."

"Like a love letter or somethin'?"

"You might say it eez… a letter of grudging _admiration_." Looking almost nervous, Razer attempted to salvage the cigarette Daxter had so hastily discarded. "Ah want it delivered in a timely manner, you prying leetle twit. Do not lose it. And if you choose to handle it in rat form between now and then, for zee love of fashion do not chew on it or anything. Ah want it presentable when she gets it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get it to her." Dax was still worrying inquisitively with the envelope when a thought occurred to him. "But hey, wait a sec. I thought you were… like, aren't ya…? Don't ya like guys?"

With a pitying smirk, Razer reached out and, very lightly and condescendingly, patted Daxter on the head with the very tips of his gloved fingers. "Poor confused boy. But, since you ask I will tell you. Let it be known that I, Razer, king of zee racecourse, require three things in mah life to be happy. Those things are caffeine, gasoline, and nicotine. But, necessities aside… lovely creatures from both sides of zee track do hold their appeal, if you know what I mean."

"I get it." Stuffing the letter into a deep pocket, Dax snorted in amusement and followed the posh racer to the door. "Fer bein' such a fancy freak, yer not real picky in the date department. Lemme guess, there's a poem in there, too?"

"Open zat envelope and Ah will hunt you down and run you over with mah car." Flinging open the door, Razer turned with a dramatic flourish. "Farewell, boy. Ah wish you luck in whatever you decide to do."

"Thanks. Ya know, Razer…" Dax really wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "Yer not so bad. I mean, yer kinda a jerk, but not really. I'll make sure Rayn gets yer letter."

"Zat's good to hear." With a small, unreadable smile, the gangster stepped out. "Goodnight, then, brat… and Ah will expect you each Tuesday night for zee next three weeks, ready to clean. Zee garage has been unbearable dusty lately." And before Dax, sputtering indignantly, could answer, he was out the door and down the walk.

"Hey, wait a—_stop_, ya moron! I'm not showin' up, ya hear me? Don't expect me ta show up, 'cause I'm not gonna!" It was too late, though. Not bothering to turn around, Razer waved lightly over his shoulder, his intent obvious. The redhead stared after him intently for a few moments, internally debating. Finally, though… huffing in annoyance, if not outright acceptance of his dusty fate, he slammed the door. "Ass."

With Razer gone, Daxter quickly went to work. He had a lot to do, and only a short time to do it in. Work on Jak's surprise would have to begin again, immediately, and he had to locate a suitable spot for the activity before the racer in question returned along with the rest of their team. But first… despite his eager excitement to get started, his stomach was rumbling almost constantly. He had to eat.

_Snacks first, then get set up. Can't work on an empty stomach. B'sides_, he reasoned, _I'm still pretty new at this Precursor junk. I'm gonna need some pretty impressive energy ta pull this off right this time._

Mind buzzing, he quickly set about raiding the refrigerator. It soon became blatantly obvious that no one on the team knew how to shop for groceries, but that didn't stop him for long. Sure Keira might call him to task later for eating her last chocolate pudding cup, but hey. Precursors-in-training required nourishment! Very soon Daxter was back in the living room, camped on the sofa with his spoils; the pudding, half a leftover sandwich, and Razer's letter to Rayn open in front of him as he ate.

"Yep, a sappy poem. I knew it. He's such a loser." Snickering evilly the redhead wolfed down another bite, still managing to make sure that no crumbs or drops of pudding touched the paper. "But maybe he's got somethin' there. I wonder if Jak'd like somethin' like this…?"

Now that he thought about it, it seemed that he really should think up something profound and romantic to say when he presented Jak with his gift. The timing would have to be perfect, and the location…

He was so lost in thought, mulling over all of his ideas, that he jumped a mile and let out a startled squeal when Jak burst through the front door, snarling.

"Get your slimy hands off him!!"

Daxter collapsed back against the cushions, hands clutched dramatically over his heart. "Jak, my buddy… ya went an' did it. Ya scared me ta death. I told ya ya had'a stop bustin' in places, but would ya listen ta little ol' Daxxie? Oh, no—"

"Where. Is. He." The racer's tone was possibly the most threatening Dax had ever heard, stopping the redhead's soliloquy in an instant. It was all he could do not to gulp nervously as Jak's gaze wandered, almost predatory, around the room.

"Where's who, pal?"

"Razer!"

"He left, like, twenty minutes ago." Cautiously, Daxter eased off the sofa and warily began to approach his friend. "Jak? Is somethin' wrong? Ya look… I dunno… pissed or somethin'."

It took a few more moments, but the green-blonde finally began to calm down. His shoulders relaxed almost visibly as Dax crept closer, the tension slowly leaving him as he heaved what sounded like an intensely relieved sigh and ran a shaky hand through his disheveled hair. "It… it's nothing, Dax. Sorry I scared you. Um… I was just gonna tell Razer to put out his smoke. It smells like an ashtray in here."

Reassured, Dax chuckled. "I guess I didn't notice. But hey, then again I've been tastin' smoke fer half an hour!" Jak froze, eyes going wide and slightly homicidal as the hand that had been tiredly rubbing at his face dropping like a dead weight. Oblivious, the redhead rambled on. "Remind me ta never take up that habit. An' remind me ta slug that creep if he ever decides ta cram another cigarette in my mouth! I'll probably have tobacco breath fer a week… So, did ya bring me somethin' ta eat?"

After a moment of silent staring, Jak seemed to try to shake off whatever had been bothering him. "Ah… no. I'm sorry, Dax, I completely forgot. I even left my own food back there on the table. Maybe Keira and the guys will pack it up and bring it back with them…"

He seemed so genuinely sorry and all around out of sorts that Daxter had to forgive him, even as his stomach rumbled noticeably. But the racer was acting awfully strange all of a sudden… _Jak, babe, what's up with ya?_ he wondered. _Everything was fine when ya left… right? _

Aloud, Dax tried to laugh it off. "I know ya missed me, pal, but that don't mean ya can abandon a full table of top-notch nibbles just ta come runnin' home ta see me, know what I'm sayin'?" He perched fists on his hips, frowning at the contrite racer in fake annoyance before sending him a playful grin and wink. "Nah, not really. Seriously, don't sweat it. I bet Keira'll bring me a doggy bag, she'd never let a full meal go ta waste. An' in the meantime, I found somethin' in the kitchen, so I'm cool."

"I don't think pudding and a stale sandwich qualifies as dinner, Dax." Jak was actually smiling a bit as he reached down to pick up the empty cup. The expression wavered, though, when he caught sight of the abandoned envelope and piece of paper beside it. "What's this?"

Daxter shrugged, already thinking ahead. Now that his companion was back home early he would have to move his project to the garage, and find some way to keep Jak and the gang out until he was done… "Eh, it's nothin'. Just a love letter from Razer."

"A love letter… to… _whom_…?" The racer's voice gritted badly as his teeth ground together, fists clenching at his sides.

"Rayn." The redhead had to pause for a laugh when the reality of what he had just said sank in. "Can ya believe Razer's sweet on her? He wrote her a poem an' everything. I would'a thought fer sure he'd be with some guy, but hey. Guess ya never know, huh?"

The former hero didn't laugh, didn't answer. He had yet to unclench his hands. Instead he stood stone still, just staring at Daxter, a strange expression on his face.

Alright, now Dax knew something was definitely wrong. He cocked his head worriedly, moving away from the door to the garage and closer to his friend. "Jak, seriously, watsa' matter wit—whoa!!" He was completely unprepared when the racer in question suddenly shot out a hand, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him close. Wide eyed, breath hitching from the shock, Daxter went still. Staring mutely up, he met his friend's intense blue gaze.

"I never should have left."

Then suddenly his shoulders were gripped almost painfully, he was pulled up nearly onto his tiptoes, and a hot, desperate mouth descended on his own with bruising force. Immediately, the redhead's concern went out the window.

_Oh… wow… shit… mmm…_ was all his brain seemed capable of generating at the moment. Quickly he reached up and threw his arms around Jak's neck, basking in the unexpected but altogether welcome attention as the racer's hands plunged under the back of his shirt. _I dunno what this is, but I ain't gonna complain!_

Dax let out an "eep!" as the firm hands at his waist slid lower to grab his hips, and he was abruptly lifted off his feet. Tightening his grip on Jak's shoulders, he did the only thing he could under the circumstances and wrapped his legs around the racer's waist as Jak spun them around and his back met the cold metal of the garage door. His head was still spinning, his breath came in hitched gasps, and his heart… It was beating so hard he thought it might burst right out of his ribcage.

_Precursors, this is fantastic!_ Eagerly Dax kissed back, marveling at how easily Jak held him up. With anyone else this would be where he would panic, crushed between a hard place and a solid wall of muscle with his feet nowhere near touching the floor. By all rights he should be fighting to be set down, but for some reason he found the situation nothing but exciting. _When did Jakkie-babe get all dominant on me? An' why the heck do I __like__ it…?_

Effortlessly Jak shifted his hold, keeping one arm firmly around Daxter's middle while his free hand moved back under the redhead's shirt to rest lightly on his heaving chest. "You okay, Dax?" he whispered, breaking their kiss and pulling back to stare with great concentration at the spot where his palm met warm skin. "You're trembling…"

With a start Daxter realized that it was true. He _was_ trembling, quivering in Jak's arms like a frightened ottsel. These particular tremors definitely weren't due to being afraid, however. Dax grinned shakily at his friend, trying to keep his voice steady. "Don't worry, babe, that's just the adrenaline!"

Jak smiled back slightly. "Good." And with that simple understanding, he hoisted Daxter higher in his embrace and headed for the stairs.

The redhead instantly knew where they were going, and couldn't keep the ecstatic grin off his face. He dug his fingers deeper into the back of Jak's jacket and settled his chin on the racer's broad shoulder, nearly purring with happiness and pleasure. He could get used to this kind of treatment. It was different but wonderfully nice to be carried while he wasn't ottsel, and the delicious friction of their lower bodies grinding together with every sure step Jak took was more than enough to make him thoroughly ready for whatever bedroom activity the green-blonde had in mind.

Mmm, bedroom… just the thought that he had just been unceremoniously picked up and was now being carted away with the intention of naughty things being done to him was exceedingly arousing, and Dax wriggled in the former hero's grip. Who would have thought Jak had it in him to take the lead? It was a completely unanticipated, though not unpleasant, surprise.

_Surprise… surprise… hmm, why does that ring a bell…? _

They were halfway up the stairs when Daxter's eyes, gone hazy and half-closed with pleasure, abruptly shot open. He straightened up in a near panic, squeezing Jak's upper arms to get him to stop. "Jak, wait! Whoa! Time out!"

The racer immediately paused, glancing down at his formerly willing captive incredulously. "What? Why?"

"I just remembered," Dax panted, shifting uneasily, "there's somethin'—somethin' I gotta do right now. Can we maybe get back ta this a little later…?"

Jak didn't even consider it. "You can do it tomorrow. This is important."

"What I gotta do's important!" Very important. The redhead began to struggle in earnest now, intent on being set down. He didn't quite know why, but suddenly it seemed of the utmost importance to him that he present Jak with his little offering before they progress any further. _I can't believe I almost forgot all about that… again… Jakkie-boy just scrambles my common sense, I guess. _He squirmed harder. "Cummon, Jak, put me down."

"Dax, please…" It was obvious that Jak had no idea what was happening. His voice and eyes were almost pleading. "I thought… but… you were so ready earlier!"

"Well that was then and this is now." Daxter didn't mean to sound so harsh, but he found the switch in their positions ironic. Where had Jak's sudden eagerness to go to bed been an hour ago, when Dax had nothing to do but play hooky on a stupid dinner party and fool around all evening? "Sorry, pal, but I gotta do this. I think I can get it done tonight, though, so maybe tomorrow we can…"

The racer's ears were falling in dismay, lending him an air of complete and total unhappiness despite his tough appearance. The redhead sighed. He was really in for it, if the simple act of denying Jak something he hadn't even wanted such a short time ago made him feel like he'd kicked a crocadog pup. Trying to cheer his friend up, Dax lightly tickled the tip of his ear and dropped an innocent kiss on his temple, one on the bridge of his nose, a third on his frowning lips.

"Hey, what's with that face? Just trust me, big guy. I got a feelin' this is fer the best, okay? So, put me down now. Please."

Very, very slowly Jak relented, and set Daxter gently back on his feet. Quickly, before either of them could change their minds, the redhead darted back down the steps and away from the insane temptation that standing right next to Jak in the darkened stairwell posed. Hesitantly, he peeked back up at the racer.

"So, uh… what're ya gonna do fer the rest'a the evening, pal?"

Jak looked remarkably tired. His voice, when he finally answered, even sounded hollow. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay. Sleep good, alright, an' I'll be in as soon as I can. An' uh, hey, if ya happen ta get up tonight fer any reason, just… uh… don't come in the garage, okay?"

"Sure. Goodnight."

"'Night, buddy." Dax was worried. Jak sounded mondo depressed. Even though he was sure the green-blonde would be ecstatic when he saw what Dax was working on the next morning, he felt bad about upsetting him now. "Hey, Jak?"

"Hmm?"

"I love ya, pal."

A wan smile flitted across the former hero's face before Jak turned and headed up the stairs. "Love you, too."

For two seconds Daxter almost went after him, but managed to hold himself back. It was worth it, he told himself firmly. It would all be worth it if he could only do this one simple thing for his best friend.

The redhead waited until he heard their bedroom door shut upstairs before turning to clean up the small mess he'd made with his snack. Carefully he refolded the letter to Rayn and tucked it back into its envelope, then placed the envelope very obviously in the center of the coffee table. She was sure to come back to base with the rest of their team, if only for a few minutes to be polite, and one of them would see it and give it to her. After that was done it was a small matter to dim the lights, and he finally slipped out into the cold chill of the silent garage.

Dax paused in the middle of the room, feeling a little out of sorts himself. It was time to get started, but he still couldn't help worrying a bit. What if he couldn't achieve what he wanted to? What if something went wrong?

_Nah, don't think like that,_ he told himself firmly. _Ya did this a month ago an' ya can do it again. You'll even do it better this time. An' it's gonna make yer best pal so happy he won't know what ta do with himself._

Keeping that hopeful prospect in mind, Daxter took a deep breath and quickly shifted into ottsel form. Precursor shape for Precursor power usage seemed to fit better, somehow. Swiftly stowing his human clothes on the seat of the Javelin X for a quick grab later, Dax readjusted his goggles and cracked his knuckles expertly as he did before every session working on the vehicles.

_B'sides, Orange Lightning can do __anything__, baby! Let's get this party started!_ He could only hope he'd had enough to eat beforehand…

O.O.O.O.O

Jak prepared for bed in a daze. Brushing his teeth, changing his clothes, and climbing between the sheets were all mechanical. It was only when the racer found himself on his back in bed staring at the darkened ceiling that the full realization of the situation hit home.

Daxter had pushed him away.

For the first time in more than a month, since Daxter had gone over his head to kick start their relationship, Jak felt cloying fear settle inside him. The redhead had been giving him subtle hints and nudges for weeks that he hadn't acted upon. What if earlier that evening he had been offered his last chance, and hadn't taken it, and now Daxter was tired of waiting around for something he could get easier somewhere else?

_I never should have left,_ he thought for the hundredth time that night. _I was right where I needed to be. Dax shouldn't have had to be disappointed. We shouldn't have even heard Razer knocking, because we should've been upstairs already… listening to the bedsprings squeak…_

Rolling over abruptly, Jak buried his face in the pillow. He felt… he couldn't even describe how bad he felt. Had he blown the only shot he had with Daxter?

_Why didn't I just go along with it?_ he thought hopelessly. _Would it really have killed me? I knew how much he wanted it, I shouldn't have even bothered getting dressed when we got out if the shower. Damn it… he made himself enjoy fooling around with a man because I just __had__ to want more from him than friendship, and I couldn't even do something that small for him._

The racer sighed bitterly. He almost didn't blame the redhead for refusing him tonight.

_What Razer told him was probably to wake up and smell the daisies. Dax isn't gay. I'm not gay. Why did I ever think this was going to work? _Well, that question at least he could answer. Daxter had told him it would work, and Jak had believed him. Needed to believe him, even… because the last thing he wanted to think about was what would happen to their friendship if their tentative romantic relationship failed.

_Now he's probably pacing the garage wondering how to break it to me that we're just friends again, _Jak thought uneasily. _Or trying to figure out how to tell me that it'll be too awkward between us now, and he's going to find someplace else to stay…_

That particular thought hurt worse than anything.

He had always known that part of his desire to be more to Daxter than just a good friend was the need to keep the redhead with him always. Of course Jak didn't want to lose him to Tess, or any other woman. Someone else Dax could spend time with, someone soft and cute and sweet that he could kiss and snuggle, someone who wasn't in danger of getting blown up on a daily basis…

The racer kept his eyes shut as tightly as possible, trying to deny the fact that they were burning. Living descendants of Mar did not cry, he reminded himself firmly. But the fact remained that, lineage aside, right at that moment he would have given anything, but _anything_ for a warm ottsel draped over his back, kicking in his sleep and snoring softly. If Dax had never figured out how to make himself human again, this whole mess never would have…

And immediately Jak hated himself for the selfish thought. His next little fantasy, that Daxter would stay with him even though he didn't want to anymore was even worse. _He got into this in the first place just to please me. I won't let him keep trying if he's not happy himself. I won't._

Oh, it would hurt to let him go. But he would do it. Dax was his best friend, the one he'd shared almost every single happy moment of his life with. No one else would ever come close to taking his place. Of course he wanted Dax to be happy.

Steeling himself, Jak took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He would talk to Daxter the next morning, and offer him an out. And if he took it…

_Precursors, please. I don't care if we're just friends, I don't care if I can never touch him again. I'll be happy with that, I'll make just having him near me enough. Just please, please, __please__… don't let him leave me altogether._

He could only hope that somehow, he had been heard.

O.o.O.o.O

Elsewhere, at that very moment, a small furry entity peered curiously through a swirling viewer portal. Its ears drooped dispiritedly as it watched the racer toss and turn restlessly, trying in vain to fall asleep. "Aww… that's sad."

"Totally," agreed the taller Precursor ottsel by its side. "Listen, dudes… I know we said we weren't gonna touch this one, but… don't you think we ought'a cut 'em a break and give these guys a hand?"

"No, I don't." Very firmly the chubby Precursor waved the portal away with his staff. "This is something Orange Lightning is going to have to figure out on his own."

"Come on, man. Don't be mean."

"Oh, I'm being far from mean." There was a twinkle in the stocky ottsel's eye as he motioned to another portal, directing his companions' attention to the scene playing within it. "If you look over here, I think you'll see that he's doing quite well for himself so far."

A grin slowly graced the furry face of the other. "Well I'll be a talking fur ball. He did that without a staff to channel his energy?"

"Yes indeed." There was almost a hint of pride in the leaser's tone as he finally closed this portal too. "Of course he should have _asked_ before doing something of that magnitude and delicacy, but his motives are pure enough. I think this time we can let it slide with a slap on the wrist. Now, let's just hope it will have the meaning he wants it to have when Jak sees what he's done!"

"Dude." The tallest of the three perked an ear admiringly. "And here I was wondering why you picked _that _guy, of all people, ta be one of us."

O.O.O.O.O

It was very late when Daxter snuck back in from the garage. Judging by the boots and discarded jackets inside the door the team had returned, but had long since retired for the night. Now all the lights were out, and the base was dark and still. Silently the ottsel slipped up the stairs and crept like a shadow down the hall to the room he and Jak shared. The racer hadn't left the door ajar, so he had to stretch hard to reach and turn the knob, but at last he made it inside.

Utterly exhausted, it was all Dax could do to climb up onto the bed. His tiny body ached. A trifle battered, slightly damp, smelling of rich dirt and salt water, he knew he should wash before collapsing next to Jak but just didn't have the energy. He was even too tired to be very excited about what he had done.

_Tomorrow…_ he thought dimly, squirming under the sleeping racer's arm. _Tomorrow we'll party. But right now…_ he felt Jak's arm unconsciously pull him nearer and smiled, snuggling in closer obligingly. Even considering the fun that lay ahead, right now there was nowhere else he would rather be. Tucked against Jak's chest, Daxter sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.

To be concluded!

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

(2nd)AN: Oh wow… what's gonna happen?? Anybody think they know? Well hold onto that guess, and you'll find out next chapter. Sorry about the complete lack of smushy-gushy romance this chapter, but just about every realistic relationship has its ups and downs, its trials and periods of doubt. It'll get better, I promise.

And now… yep… on to the outtakes!

O.O.O.O.O

Light Jak Shoulder Angel: Did you really have to do that?

Dark Jak Shoulder Devil: Do what?

Light: Freak him out like that! You didn't have to feed him those horrible mental images, especially in a public restaurant!

Dark: I did if I wanted him to switch me out for a minute. That steak looked _good._

Light: …okay, you know what? When all three of us wind up in extensive psychotherapy, don't come crying to me.

O.O.O.O.O

Sig: Okay Torn, since Jak took off and obviously doesn't want this delicious dinner, I'll just eat his steak for him and you can have his vegetables. Can't let it all go to waste.

Torn: Well, why can't I have the steak and you eat the vegetables?

Sig: Because you have'ta eat your veggies if ya wanna grow up big an' strong like me.

Torn: Ha ha ha. That's funny.

O.O.O.O.O

Dark: I mean, really though. If you think about it, it's a wonder the redhead stuck with him this long.

Light: I hate to admit it, but you're right. He is something of a furry little Casanova. And Jak knows Daxter better than anyone, so he knew what he was getting into trying to date him without sleeping with him too…

Dark: (sympathetic) Poor sap.

Light: (suspicious) Dark, why are you so concerned with Jak's love life all of a sudden? It's odd that you're being so caring.

Dark: Oh, it's simple. Sooner or later they'll fight about it. Jak gets mad, I get out, the redhead gets cornered, and boom bam. We get some tail whether Jak likes it or not. Catch my drift, Nightlight?

Light: …does the thought of my wings wrapped around your neck, slowly choking the breath out of your sadistic lungs mean anything to you?

Dark: Mmm, tentacles… (licks lips) Kinky.

Light: ((sob)) I try, Jak. I try!!

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Ya know, Razer, yer not so bad.

Razer: Neither are you, brat. Think fast! (steals a kiss)

Daxter: ……((shock!))

Razer: (smirks) Zee boy eez much too fun to tease. See you later, Dax—

Dark Jak: ((loom)) Grrrrrrr…

Razer: Oh, shit.

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: (sneaks up to the door) Alright, it's time to see who won our bet.

Sig: Go on, then, open it!

Torn: (throws open door) A-HA!! …oh, wait, they're not here…

Keira: Aww… ((pout)) I was hoping they'd be making out.

Rayn: Well, since the couch is indeed empty, none of you win, and I'll collect—(taps at calculator)—seventy Precursor orbs.

Keira: ((sigh)) O-kaaaay… hey, wait a second, that's not right!

O.O.O.O.O

Torn: (throws open door) A-HA!! …O.O

Sig: … o.O;;;

Jak: Uh… (mortally embarrassed)

Daxter: ((blink blink)) …what?

Rayn: OMG those stains are _never_ going to come out of the upholstery!!

Ashelin: (covers face) EWW!! I am _so_ never sitting on that couch again!

Keira: (awed) Where in the world did they get that much pudding…?


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Here we go, everyone. The last chapter. The beginning of the end. Almost brings a tear to your eye, don't it? (sniffle sniffle) Many hugs and kissus for all you reviewers, who make me so very happy each and every time you leave a comment.

**Disclaimer: **For the last time, Jak and Daxter aren't mine. Must I keep saying it? Breaks my heart every time I do…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Jak? Hey, Jak, wake up!"

When the racer awoke, blinking blearily at the ceiling, it was to someone insistently prodding him in the shoulder. With an annoyed sound Jak tried to roll over and escape the unknown assailant, but found himself partially pinned by a warm weight draped over him from knees to chest.

Insistent fingers threaded through his hair, combing out the tangles a night of fitful tossing and turning had caused. "Cummon, pal, up an' at 'em. I got a surprise fer ya."

"Mmm… surprise?" Jak was already vaguely surprised that Dax was here. At once he remembered what had happened the night before, and the unsettled feeling came crawling back. Letting his eyes fall closed once more the green-blonde reached up to wrap his arms around the redhead above him. The privilege could be revoked at any time, so why pass up a golden opportunity? "What is it?"

Luckily, Daxter didn't seem inclined to break his friend's heart just yet. "Ya gotta get up an' come see."

"Can it wait a minute? M'tried…" He wasn't _that_ tired, really. It just felt so nice to lie there, nestled in the soft blankets and cradling Dax on top of him. He could cheerfully remain in bed all day under those conditions.

"Nope. I want ya ta see it _now_," Dax whined playfully, pulling out of Jak's arms to sit up haphazardly on the racer's hard abs. "I put a lot'a effort into this one, so ya'd better get up, get dressed, an' get downstairs fer breakfast. Today's gonna be awesome, I'll just tell ya right now!"

Jak chuckled weakly. He couldn't really see how the day when he would offer to let Daxter walk out of their strange relationship could be anything like "awesome." But the thought was driven from his head when Dax leaned forward and wrapped sly fingers in his hair again, teasingly pulling his face closer.

"Heroes…" kiss "who get out'a bed…" kiss "an' do what their buddies tell 'em…" kiss "_when_ they tell 'em…" kiss "are _happy_ heroes." Kiss, kiss, kiss.

Without his permission, the racer's upper body rose from the bed to follow the lips that never stayed on his long enough for those light, quick pecks to be returned. Despite his internal resolve not to get his hopes up, Jak couldn't help but take heart from his friend's playful antics. Maybe Dax wasn't so unhappy with him as he had thought.

_He wouldn't be kissing me if he really wanted to end it, right?_ he thought hopefully, finally managing to plant a more substantial smooch on the squirming redhead in his lap. The green-blonde chuckled as Daxter tried to worm away. "Alright, I'm coming. What's for breakfast?"

"Whatever we can find, babe, whatever we can find. Now let's _go!_"

This time the former hero followed more willingly. It would be alright. He could have a little fun and savor a last day "together" before he opened up the floor for their little heart to heart. The very least he could do was make sure he enjoyed himself.

O.O.O.O.O

There was a ruckus unfolding in the main room when the two descended the stairs a few minutes later. Daxter's stomach was telling him loudly and insistently that the kitchen was the place to be at the moment, but he spared what was happening a glance and a listen anyway.

"No way!" Keira exclaimed loudly into her 'com. "No. Way."

/"Yes!"/ squealed the voice on the other end, unmistakably that of their team manager in a bona fide tizzy. /"I was so tired last night that I waited until this morning to open it, and when I did it was from _him! _Oooh, I'm faint!"/

"Way to go, girl!" Ashelin cheered, leaning over Keira's shoulder for access to the communicator. "Are you going to accept flat out or play hard to get first?"

/"Oh, my, I just don't know! I've never had a steady boyfriend before—it's so exciting!"/

Torn and Sig were nowhere to be seen. The redhead concluded that they had sensed a storm of girlish gushing brewing and prudently high-tailed it out of there. He could only hope they weren't loitering in the garage…

"I don't think I'm brave enough to ask." Jak seemed faintly amused as they slipped into the kitchen unnoticed. "You think this is about the—?"

Dax nodded. "The letter. I left it there on the table last night, so I'm guessin' Rayn picked it up when they all got back. Hey, speakin' of them coming back…" With great expectations, he pulled open the refrigerator. He wasn't disappointed; several carryout boxes stared back. "Ah, sweet leftovers. Let's dig in, pal!"

Breakfast was a rushed affair. Once the food was out of the micro-oven Daxter didn't waste a minute having at it, immediately resulting in a burned tongue. He was so jittery with excitement that he nearly spilled his glass of juice, and then almost choked on a forkful of rice as he tried to shovel it down too fast.

"Damn, Dax, slow down." Jak looked up from his own plate to pound his smaller friend on the back lightly. "You don't have to inhale it. Whatever it is you want to show me, it's not going anywhere."

"Eat faster," was the redhead's comment around a fit of coughing. "The day's wastin' as we speak!"

Finally, _finally_, they were done.

Sweeping the used takeout boxes into the garbage, Daxter was behind Jak and insistently pushing him toward the garage almost before the green-blonde had time to put their dirty forks and glasses by the sink. Jak smirked teasingly, leaning back and bracing his feet so that he couldn't be shoved along. "You know, I could always find a list of chores that need done around here before we go goofing off…"

"Don't even think about it," Dax growled, giving the racer's backmost belt loop a warning tug. "I guarantee it, when you see what I got planned you'll wonder why ya wasted a second!"

"If you say so…"

"I do say so. Now get the lead out!"

On their way back through the front room, the redhead called out to the girls still busily discussing the big news. "Keira, Ashe, we're goin' out! Don't wait up!"

"Have fun, guys." So absorbed was the pretty mechanic in their three-way conversation on all things date-related that she didn't question the information, appearing not to notice the boys heading for the garage instead of the front door. "Oh, absolutely Rayn, wait _at least_ a day before calling him. You can't look too desperate."

Dax snorted fondly as he herded Jak toward their goal. Women. So cute, and yet so un-understandable…

Once in the garage, it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dim light that filtered through the tiny, dingy windows near the ceiling of the large room. The air, tinged with the ever-present scents of eco, motor oil, and gasoline, was still chill from the cold Kras City night.

"So my surprise is out here?" Jak seemed doubtful, glancing about as if to see what might be hidden from him among the grease and cobwebs.

"Sort'a…" Unobtrusively, Dax slipped away from his friend's side.

The racer didn't appear to like the vague answer. "What do you mean? Is it or isn't it?"

"It is… kind'a…" Casually, the redhead began to saunter toward the back corner of the room, in the direction of their parked vehicles. Sounding alarmed, Jak followed him like a puppy.

"Wait a minute. Daxter, did you do something to the Javelin? Because even though I appreciate that you'd want to surprise me with an upgrade you know we're all supposed to agree on modifications _before_ you do them—"

"Relax, Jak. I didn't touch yer car, okay?" With an amused sigh, the redhead reached the back and stopped beside the large tarp that had been hastily tacked to the wall. Those huge, tent-like things really could come in handy for more than covering the other vehicles when they were touching up the paint on a single car. "_This_ is yer surprise."

Jak stared at the tarp on the wall uncomprehendingly, head cocked faintly to one side. "…you did some redecorating?"

Daxter wanted to smack his head against something. "No, ya idiot! Just take a look, okay?" With a quick jerk, he pulled the heavy fabric down and exposed what was behind it to Jak's curious gaze.

A startled expression flashed across the racer's features. "Dax… since when is there a warp gate in our garage?"

"Since I made one here." Industriously Dax began to fold up the tarp.

"Wait, wait, wait… how did you _make_ a gate?" Jak was staring intently at its swirling surface as if afraid something was going to pop out and bite him. It was almost funny.

"Well, I kind'a maybe sort'a tapped into the fancy Precursor stuff," the redhead admitted with a cheeky grin as he threw the heavy bundle to the side. "It wasn't as hard as I thought it was gonna be, actually. 'Course, I might'a practiced doin' it a couple times before, too…"

Excitement was trying to worm its way into Jak's voice as he curiously inspected his friend's handiwork. "Does it work? Can we use it? Where does it go?"

Oh, yes, he had the racer's full attention and curiosity now. Perfect. "Well, that's part two of yer surprise. You'll hav'ta go through an' see where we end up. Fun, huh? Unless of course…" he aimed a cocky smirk at the green-blonde, "yer scared?"

Jak rolled his eyes. "I really don't think so. Something tells me the biggest little coward I know wouldn't create a warp gate to anywhere dangerous." Before Daxter could sputter an indignant retort, he had moved in front of the gate and shot back a cocky grin of his own. "So, are we going? Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just yer sense of gratitude," Dax grumbled, and grabbed his friend's sleeve. A simple precaution. "Shut up, hold on, an' let's go."

Taking a deep breath, they stepped into the portal.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak's first clue that something was amiss was that they didn't stop. He had counted to three slowly as usual, waiting for the common warp gate vertigo to subside and the two of them to hop out at their mystery destination. However, this time their surroundings continued to spin. If anything, the vortex around them even seemed to be getting stronger…

Fighting off a growing sense of alarm, he very much wanted to ask Daxter what was happening. He wouldn't put it past his friend to have accidentally messed something up, playing around with powers he didn't fully know how to use yet. But the redhead didn't look at all concerned.

_Oh, gods, this is just like that damn time machine that ruined my life!_

As the simple blue that permeated that space around them began to shift into a multitude of swirling colors, the green-blonde clenched his eyes shut. He couldn't believe he had actually stepped into an unknown, apparently homemade warp portal. Entirely willingly, no less, and without demanding to know where they were going. Now there was nothing for it but to see what happened and pray they could still get back to where (and when) they had come from.

_Jak, you idiot, when are you gonna learn to quit following Daxter into crazy situations?! If this is the start of our next "big adventure" I'm going to __kill__ him when we get wherever this leads… _

That thought foremost in his mind, the racer almost didn't notice they were arriving until it was too late. He nearly tripped out of the gate, body still limp from letting the forces inside the portal pummel him to their nonexistent hearts' content. Daxter, still hanging onto his sleeve, had better luck. The redhead stumbled forward a few feet, but quickly righted himself and tried to help steady Jak.

"See now, that wasn't so bad, huh pal?"

"Oh, I beg to differ." Trying to adjust to not being in swirling, tumultuous limbo, the green-blonde brushed himself off. He tried to look stern as he stared down at his shorter friend. "Where are we?" In all fairness, he ought to give Daxter a decent sized piece of his mind for leading them into something so risky.

He was caught off guard, though, when Dax's hands shot up and clapped firmly over his eyes before he could get a look around. "Guess."

"I don't know where I am, but _you're_ going to be in a world of hurt if you don't knock off these crazy games." Grumbling, Jak nevertheless decided to comply. Obviously this was pretty important to the redhead, and they had after all arrived intact. Keeping his eyes closed behind Daxter's hands, he sighed deeply and tried to decipher the mystery of their location.

Before Dax had restricted his vision he had fleetingly seen a wide expanse of green. Grass, probably. That meant they most likely weren't anywhere near Haven City, and certainly nowhere close to Spargus. Maybe the forest outside Haven…?

Perking his ears, he could hear birds… and a strange sort of rushing, rumbling roar. What on earth was that? It sounded much too deep and low to be any kind of machinery they were familiar with. It almost sounded like… With a start, Jak strained to hear it better. Inhaling sharply, he caught a deep breath of warm air that he suddenly realized was almost painfully fresh and sweet.

"Turn around!" Daxter's voice was bubbling with barely contained excitement and mischief as he tugged Jak in a half circle, still making sure his eyes were covered.

Even when he was properly positioned to the redhead's satisfaction and those teasing hands finally left his face, the racer didn't dare look. He could feel warm sun on his face, a cool breeze in his hair. He was shaking slightly. Either he'd see what he thought he'd see and have some sort of embarrassing emotional reaction, or he _wouldn't_ see what he thought he'd see and have some sort of embarrassing emotional reaction.

"Well, go on, take a peek. You know ya wanna…"

It was Daxter's light, coaxing nudge that finally made him do it. Slowly, the green-blonde opened his eyes.

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter watched raptly as emotion after emotion raced across his normally calm friend's face. Shock. Wonder. Confusion. Disbelief. This was it, the big moment he'd been waiting for, and so far it was entirely worth any and all effort he'd put forth. It was all he could do not to start laughing crazily and completely ruin the mood when Jak slowly sank down to sit numbly in the long grass, staring out unblinkingly over the panoramic view of Sandover Village and Sentinel Beach.

"Remember ta breathe, big guy. Oxygen is generally an important part'a life."

Jak didn't answer. He continued to gaze silently over the bluff, down on the waterfall just below them, the jungle beyond that, down to the small thatch-roofed huts and the golden sand of the beach that melted into deep blue water.

"Like what ya see?" Stretching languorously, the redhead meandered over to drop to his knees behind his friend, elbows propped on Jak's broad shoulders and chin resting on the top of his head. "Not a bad view, if I do say so myself."

"Daxter… what…?"

"Don't worry, yer not dreamin'." Something inside him made reassuring Jak top priority over teasing and joking, and he tightened the arms around his bigger buddy's neck affectionately. "Want me ta explain all this?"

"_Please_."

Dax took a deep breath and began. "Well… right after I figured out that I could go back an' forth from Orange Lighting mode, I started thinkin' about what else I could do. An' at some point I remembered the Precursor portals we used ta play around. An' I figured we… ya know, I thought it might be good ta get back here."

That wasn't the half of it. They had _needed_ to get back to this place, needed it more with each consecutive day Jak passed in a surly bad mood and every evening Daxter wanted to reach for a drink to make some depressing new reality not seem so bad. He'd meant to get them back to this time and place or waste every ounce of his newfound power trying.

"At first I just started playin' around makin' little portals, just seeing if I could do it. It was hard at first, 'cause I didn't want to screw up and us land back here at the same time we were here before, ya know? I don't think ol' Green could handle two of me an' you at the same time!"

"You're serious." The green-blonde still sounded dazed.

"Heck yeah. One night I was tossing old tools an' stuff through, just ta make sure they wouldn't disintegrate inside the gate or anything, and I saw us playin' on the beach. We were… little. Maybe six? Seven? I dunno. Remember that time we were buildin' sand castles and that bolt came out'a nowhere an' hit ya in the head? An' we couldn't figure out where it came from? Yeah… uh, sorry about that. My bad."

Jak took a moment to digest the information. He looked like he was slowly beginning to adjust. "I'm not even going to comment on how dangerous messing with the space-time continuum probably is, so I'll just ask… now that we're… here… _when_ are we here?"

"Oh, don't worry about _that_. I crept through last night an' did some research. It's about four years since we left, according to our artist buddy down by the beach. Oh, hey, speakin' of that guy… ya wanna go see him with me real quick? He didn't believe me when I told him you can talk now, an' I kind'a made him a bet that—"

Daxter was bowled over backwards as Jak shot to his feet. Without a word the green-blonde was off, racing headlong for the series of narrow ledges that would lead down toward the small village. In a moment Dax had regained both his feet and his composure, and was running after his friend as quickly as he could.

"Jak, hold up! No head starts! Aww, come on, I've got shorter legs than you! Jaaak, wait fer meee!!"

O.O.O.O.O

Jak felt like he was flying. No sooner did his feet touch dirt or grass than he was off again, leaping and bounding down the steep cliff face with ease.

Maybe he should have stopped and waited for Daxter, but he could still clearly hear the smaller redhead's whining, complaining yells. That meant he wasn't _too_ far behind, so Jak didn't have to feel guilty about leaving his friend completely in the dust. He was far too keyed up to wait.

This certainly didn't feel like a dream. The wind whistled through his hair, the ground was solid under his boots, and the muted roar of the waterfall and crashing of the waves on the beach became louder the closer he came to them. He had to admit, if it was all fake then it was the realest hallucination he'd ever had.

By the time he reached the bottom and landed in the warm sand, the racer was convinced. It was true. They were really back. He wanted to laugh and whoop and positively _roll_ in the sand and sea—after he saw everyone in town. Oh, yes, he wanted to see everyone and _everything!_

"Come on, Dax, hurry!"

Daxter was panting when he finally dropped down next to Jak. It had been a long time since he'd had to run any great distance on his own two feet, and even going downhill seemed to wind him a little. "Geeze, will ya slow down?! What I wanted ta show ya ain't goin' nowhere, remember?"

Jak was shifting impatiently, almost running in place. How could Dax honestly expect him to stay calm at a time like this? Laughing, the green-blonde shot forward and grabbed his smaller friend under the arms. Easily lifting him off his feet, he picked the redhead up and spun him in a circle. Predictably Dax let out a squall of indignation, his shoes nowhere near touching the sand.

"Put me down, ya big lug! I get swung around when I'm furry an' not a minute before—got that, sweetheart?"

"Oh, shut up, Dax. This is incredible! It's amazing! _You're_ amazing!"

The praise seemed to placate the redhead immediately. When Jak set him back down he began to preen, smiling like a cat in the cream. "Why, yes, Jak, I _am_ fantastic, thanks fer notice—whoa!"

Jak didn't let him finish, grabbing a thin wrist and hauling the startled redhead along behind him as he ran. "Now let's _go_."

"Jak, fer pete'sake, watch out fer the crabs!"

Neither Daxter's whining nor the huge lurker crabs slowed them down much. In minutes they were atop the slowly turning wooden wheel that was the quickest way from the beach to the little cluster of tiny hut-like dwellings, and in a minute more they were racing through the heart of Sandover Village. Jak was grinning so hard it hurt. Nothing had changed! It was exactly the way he remembered!

At last the racer skidded to a stop outside the sculptor's hut, allowing Daxter to double over behind him with his hands on his knees and pant. Were the inhabitants of the town as unchanged as the rest of the scenery? Would they even remember him? Jak hesitated at the door of the small hut, standing wide open as it had been so often during their childhood. He peeked inside, ears flicking a bit nervously.

Daxter, however, caught his breath and strode past Jak, barging right in. "Hey, Rembrandt, ya home? Oh, come on in, Jak."

No sooner had the former hero inched past the threshold than a flash of pink plummeted from the rafters. Banking off the top of Daxter's head, it landed squarely on Jak's shoulder with a happy trill.

"I believe she's saying, 'welcome back, dudes!' Or, something very much like that."

"Yeah, yeah." Daxter huffed, shoving his goggles back into place from where they had been knocked askew. "Ya might wanna keep yer cute little pet on a leash there, Michelangelo. I think I just almost lost an eye."

Jak could only stare as the eccentric artist emerged from behind a huge block of marble, laughing lazily. He hadn't changed either. Not a bit. Nor had the small pink creature they had once collected home from Misty Island, currently wrapped around Jak's neck and sniffing at him curiously. Both were still strange and both were still covered in a light dusting of powdered rock.

"My Muse is just saying hello. But look at you, my carrot-topped friend! It appears you have lost your pelt after all. And quiet dude, I hardly recognized you! How utterly awesome is this?" As he reached out to pat them both on the back, the muse bounced down from Jak's shoulder to recline casually on her master's. "Both my little dudes are not so little anymore. Ah, how time flies! I must immortalize this meeting in a sculpture!"

"Hold it, there, Picasso. Forgetting our bet, old man?" The redhead tapped a foot impatiently as a chisel and hammer paused in midair, their wielder looking slightly confused. "Before ya go playin' with yer rocks… Go ahead an' say somethin' now, Jak! Prove me right, okay?"

As the muse trilled curiously and all eyes landed on him, Jak suddenly found that he had absolutely nothing intelligent to share. All he could do was grin somewhat hesitantly. "Uh… what should I say?"

There was utter silence as the sculptor blinked. Then he laughed uproariously. "Dudes! That is truly amazing! High five."

Bemused, Jak met the proffered hand, as did Daxter a moment later—albeit with much more eye rolling. The green-blonde had long grown accustomed to using his voice, but… He had forgotten there were people other than Dax, Keira and Samos who knew he had once been mute, and just might care that he could now speak—even be happy for him. It was a remarkably nice feeling.

"You have indeed won our bet, little redheaded dude. When we get together and you bestow upon me the grand tale of your adventures, I shall provide the refreshments."

"Booze," Daxter corrected. "Lots an' lots of booze."

"Refreshments," the artist agreed. "Just please, stay the heck out of my art supplies."

"Hey, I was tired! I needed fruit fer energy!"

Jak was confused. "Huh…?"

"Last night I awoke from a sound slumber to find little furry orange dude in my kitchen, up to the whiskers in some fruit I was using to craft a new color of paint. I was happy to see him and we chatted for quite a while but, I must say… I was not initially thrilled, man."

"Dax," Jak admonished with a smile, nudging the glaring redhead lightly in the ribs. "You shouldn't eat other people's projects. Especially after breaking into their houses."

"Alright, that's it!" Daxter finally exploded. Red in the face, he threw his arms up in feigned exasperation. "That's the last time I waste my time an' energy doin' _anything_ fer you, ya big ingrate! Can't a guy get a bite around here anymore, or did that crackpot mayor make eating illegal? Yeesh!"

It was too cute. Before Jak could stop himself, remember that they had an audience, he reached out and was pulling the redhead to him in a hug. He managed to alter it at the last moment, though, and instead caught Dax in an improvised headlock. A very gentle and affectionate headlock.

_Later. Later. You can cuddle him later. Not now, not in public. _It wouldn't be good to reveal so soon that more had changed with them than their heights. A lot more…

Even so, he waited until both the artist and his muse had turned back to the hunk of rock and planted a quick, covert nuzzle behind his friend's ear. Daxter wasn't oblivious to it, either, if the startled head-to-toe shiver it elicited was anything to go by. Jak grinned as Dax cleared his throat.

"W-well, we'd better be goin'… lots ta see today, yep!"

"Have a blast, dudes! And remember… come back soon! Running off for years on end without even a goodbye is a most uncool thing to do." The muse chattered an almost accusing agreement.

Daxter snorted, breaking out of the racer's hold. "Yeah, yeah, we hear ya. Don't forget about those drinks, alright? Later!"

With a small wave, Jak happily followed his partner in crime out the door. If Dax had other plans for them that day, he would go along willingly. Whatever he had cooked up would surely be worthwhile. "So, where are we going?"

"Wherever ya wanna go, I guess." The redhead looked around dubiously. "Ya know there's SO much ta do around here… Hey, wait, I know! Let's go swi—"

"Oh, my _heavens!_ Boys, it really _is _you! Oh, I'm so glad!"

Jak wasn't quite sure how the Bird Lady had managed to sneak up on them, the feather on top of her bird-hat bobbing crazily, but she had. Daxter dove for safety behind him with a quick "yipe!" as she advanced with open arms. Hugs were very obviously immanent.

"My goodness, Jak, you've grown so tall! It's so good to see you two again! When our young artist told me you'd come back this morning I could hardly believe it."

"Figures he'd gab," Dax muttered petulantly, dodging further around his green-blonde bodyguard when it seemed likely his cheeks were to be pinched. "Can't keep nothin' quiet around here. Hey, lady, back off! Don't touch me! Jaaak!"

Jak simply chuckled. He didn't have anything to say. He was just enjoying himself, immensely. This was… home. Nothing short of paradise. How could he hope to repay Daxter for this?

"It's such a shame your uncle is away again, Jak. I know he would have loved to see you if he had only known! He really misses your shenanigans so much, you know." She sighed fondly before perking up again. "Well, come along, boys. I made cookies just in case you came by."

"Cookies? What are we, seven?"

"Come, now, Daxter. Your Flut Flut has been waiting for you," she wheedled. "Won't he be surprised to see you? He wasn't even hatched the last time you looked like your old self, you know. I'm so glad you two finally managed to fix that little problem." Taking Jak by the arm she led them off, Daxter grumbling all the way.

"'Little problem', she says… Fine. But this is just 'cause Jak wants to, see? Cookies an' a bird that tried ta eat me last time I saw it can't beat swimmin'—which is what we're gonna do the second we're through here!"

The Flut Flut, as it turned out, adored Daxter whether he had fur or not. The enormous bird followed him around the yard in front of the birdwatcher's house, even when the cookies he held were long gone. The calls of "mama! mama!" flew thick and fast, much to the redhead's annoyance.

"Look, bird-brain, we've had this talk. I ain't yer mom! How many times do I need ta say it?!" Still, he seemed to take pity. "Ya want a cookie? Guess which hand the cookie's in!"

Jak watched, holding a cookie of his own, as the creature closely inspected Daxter's closed fists. When it had made its decision, it knocked at one of them with its beak.

"Nope, sorry!" the redhead grinned, revealing an empty palm to the bemused bird. "Try again."

_Don't tease him, Dax…_ Jak opened his mouth to verbalize the warning, then gave up. It was more enjoyable to just watch what was sure to unfold when the Flut Flut found out the other hand was empty, too.

Daxter was laughing as he waved both hands in the bird's face. "Aww, too bad! Just jokin' with ya, I don't have any more. Maybe next time, there, feather-head."

"_Mama!_" came the indignant squeal, followed immediately by a loud crack that Jak could only hope was a rock hard beak against a lense of his friend's goggles, rather than directly against his skull.

"_Oww!_ Ja-aak, it pecked me! Hey, dammit—get away! Jak, help, it's chasin' me! Throw it something, quick!"

Forcing the grin off his face, the green-blonde completely ignored what was going on in the yard and turned instead to their minute hostess. With a nod and a smile, he handed her back the empty glasses of milk and the cookie platter. _She's a little old lady, after all. I don't want to give her a heart attack by just suddenly beginning to speak. Maybe we can ease her into that slowly…_

"Oh, you're very welcome, Jak." Smiling sweetly, she patted his hand. "Just promise you'll come back and see me soon. Er… but not too soon. You might want to give the Flut Flut some time to forget about this, you understand."

O.O.O.O.O

The day passed much too quickly for Daxter's liking. Well, it did once his poor abused head ceased to ache.

At Jak's insistence they had tracked down and spoken to each and every resident of Sandover Village. In reality, this involved Daxter talking while Jak smiled like an idiot. The only inhabitant they hadn't seen so far was one absent old snob of an uncle, and though Jak regretted missing him Dax was glad he wasn't there. His perfect day with Jak would no doubt have been darkened by the old coot's careless insults.

Now, though, they were free. Of course they had retreated to the beach with all due haste, kicking off boots and unnecessary articles of clothing as they went, this time with Dax in the lead. Minus the few minutes it took to slather on some sun oil that they'd had the good sense to pilfer from the old explorer's currently empty hut, they had been swimming for hours.

_One hundred percent natural redhead, keep out of direct sunlight when not covered in fur. _Jak might get a nice tan out of the day, but Daxter would be lucky if he didn't burn at least a little in spite of the oil. _Ah, well. If I burn, I burn. It's worth it._

Dax stretched leisurely. He had gotten a bit tired and taken a break, stretched out on the warm sand, but Jak was still going strong. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the slowly sinking sun, he studied the racer cavorting in the surf.

Jak hadn't looked so happy in a long, long time. The only instances where he looked like that normally were ones where the two of them were palling around or getting otherwise "close," but this was different. This was sustained contentment. The green-blonde hadn't stopped smiling all day.

Daxter grinned as his friend threw himself headlong into a large wave with a war cry that would have done his dark eco form proud, all but daring it to knock him down and make his day. It was unspeakably endearing.

_Purrr…_ The redhead smirked, rolling over to rest on his stomach, chin propped on his hands. Wet Jak in nothing but soaked boxers was a fine, fine sight and more than deserving of a catcall or two or ten. He managed to restrain himself, though. _I will not lust after Jak under these circumstances. I will __not__ lust after Jak under these circumstances. That can come later. Today isn't about that. Today is about happy Jakkie-boy, period._

Finally, Jak seemed to notice that he was alone. Shaking himself off, he left the water and meandered over to where Daxter was laying next to the scattered piles of their clothes and shoes. "Hey, Daxter. Don't tell me you're tired already?"

The redhead snorted, fighting back a yawn as the racer dropped down beside him. "Excuse me? Some of us didn't get hardly any sleep last night, if ya remember."

"Oh." Jak had the decency to look the slightest bit embarrassed. Apologetically he reached out to brush a bit of clinging sand from his friend's shoulder. The freckled skin was turning pink. "Do you want more sun block, Dax? You're getting kind of red."

"Nah, it's no big deal. The sun's goin' down, anyway." He glanced up at the sky, then sighed contentedly and let his eyes drift shut, basking in the warm golden glow. "Too bad. There's nothin' like a day at the beach, huh, Jak?"

"Yeah…"

The racer's wistful tone made Dax crack his eyes open again. He struggled up into a sitting position, staring at his friend curiously. Jak sounded much too melancholy for his liking as he stared out past the huge stone sentinels that decorated the beach and across the sparkling water, towards the rapidly setting sun.

To tell the truth, Dax didn't want the day to be over yet either. Sure they could always come back again, but this first day had been special. For the first time in years he'd seen Jak in their old familiar surroundings, but he had seen him with new eyes. So different, and yet so much the same. In a funny way it was almost like their first date. But, that thought in mind… the day was _completely_ done. With a sly grin, the redhead crept over and threw an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"I guess we need to think about heading back soon." The reluctance in the green-blonde's statement was tangible. "I bet you're hungry, too. Cookies aren't a very filling lunch, huh?"

Daxter smiled at his friend's attempts at small talk. "I'm only _sort'a_ hungry, so I'll live. And maybe we can think about gettin' back in a little bit. But don't sweat it, babe. We can always come back here now, ya know."

Jak turned to look at him. "Always? What about when the races are over and we leave Kras for good? We can't take the garage with us."

"I'll just close that gate an' make a new one." Dax shrugged, blatantly cozying up to the racer. "Next time we can bring Keira, too. I bet she'd like that. Heck, we can even bring the rest of 'em along if ya want. It may not be the most exciting vacation out there, but I bet no one's ever seen anyplace like this before. We'd have one hell'uva beach party! But not Jinx. Jinx can't come. He'd pollute the place."

Jak was obviously incredulous. "You mean…?"

"I mean we're back ta stay, pal. So don't worry about it. Whatever else happens, Sandover is once again saddled with the Demolition Duo. And I hope they enjoyed their little breather, 'cause we got a lot'a lost time ta make up for. Now, what kind'a trouble can we get into first?"

For just a second, the look in Jak's eyes made Dax extremely happy. That look seemed to say that Jak had read his mind, and their first order of mischief should be to get busted for indecent exposure and public display of affection right there on the beach. But then…

The green-blonde smiled ruefully. "Okay, Dax. I get it."

"Uh… get what, pal?"

"Everything's back to how it was, now… how it's supposed to be. Thanks for doing this for me, Dax. You know me so well it's scary. But…"

All this serious talk from Jak was making the redhead nervous. Today wasn't supposed to be serious; it was supposed to be fun! Still, he had to ask. "But?"

"Everything's back to normal except 'us.' So… If you want things to go back to how they used to be between us, if you want us to be just friends, Daxter, I… I understand. I can deal with that. This past month has been—fantastic. More than fantastic. More than I ever should have asked for. So I'll make that be enough. It's up to you."

All Dax could do was sit, and stare.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak felt half sick. Well, this was it. He'd said what he felt he had to say, and all he could do now was wait for Daxter's answer. Hopefully he would be kind if he planned to let the former hero down, and do it easily. Or, rather, as easily as he could. Dax wasn't known for being very good in delicate situations like this. Cautiously, Jak chanced a glance at his friend.

Daxter pounced. The startled racer was almost knocked backward into the sand as the warm, slightly damp redhead landed in his lap with a pitiful wail. "Jaaak, no! No no no nooo, pal, don't change yer mind _now! _It's goin' so good—don't say we gotta mess it all up!"

Jak's heart began to beat again as he stared down at the slight former ottsel hanging around his neck, babbling for all he was worth.

"Damn it, Jak, I get this awesome day all planned out an' ya gotta go an' end it like this! I did this as a really great gettin' together gift for ya, and then ya take it like I wanna break up." Dax paused to take a deep, hopefully calming, breath. "Yer a moron, Jak. Ya know that, right?"

Jak managed a wobbly grin. "Well, no one ever accused me of being a genius. That's Vin's department."

The redhead's ears were flicking in exasperation, but an amused smile was trying to hover around his mouth. "Okay, look. There's somethin' I was gonna say to ya. It's kind'a sappy, but I guess I'll say it anyway."

"Okay…"

Getting up on his knees, but still mostly in Jak's lap, Daxter grabbed his friend's head and forcibly turned it so he was looking out over the water, to where the burning sunset painted the horizon between sea and sky. "Look out there. Ya see that sun, right?"

"Yeah, I see it. It's beautiful."

"Yup. Enchanting. But when ya look at that sun goin' down I want ya ta think about somethin'. That's the sun setting on all the lousy crap that's tripped us up so far, ya dig? All the bad stuff that's happened, it's over. Gone. Done with. Hasta la vista, baby." He tweaked Jak's ears, presumably to make sure the green-blonde was listening and understood. "And tomorrow when the sun comes up again, it'll be… ya know. A new day. An' it'll be… better, know what I'm sayin'?"

Jak stared.

"Uh, I mean, it'll be better now that we're…" It was obvious Dax was uncomfortable. He had begun to fidget nervously. "Now that we're, uh, ya know…"

Jak was grinning now.

Flustered and frustrated, knowing Jak was amused to no end, Daxter finally just gave up. "Sorry. Um, that sounded a lot better in my head last night, I swear! Dammit, I knew I should'a wrote all this crap down. I was gonna ink it on my hand but I figured we'd swim so it would'a washed off anyways—"

"Dax. Shh."

After a moment of shock, Daxter relaxed and slowly sank back onto Jak's lap with a laugh. "I guess that's my cue ta put a sock in it, big guy? Okay. Gotcha, roger, and can do—even though I can't imagine ya wouldn't wanna hear me talkin' to ya!"

As the redhead hummed happily and returned his embrace, Jak relaxed too. Why shouldn't he? Not only had he unexpectedly gained something dear that he'd thought lost forever, but he had kept something even dearer that he'd been sure he was about to lose. Now he simply sat in the warm sand, listening to the waves and the sea birds and the wind through the palms, and holding a very smug, very sleepy, very contented Dax to him.

Daxter. With that hair and that grin and those eyes and that attitude. His best friend, his love, his laughter, his light. The racer smiled.

_Is it any wonder why I love you, Daxter?_ And Jak leaned down for a kiss.

O.O.O.O.O

The End.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

(2nd)AN: I guess this is where I get down on my knees and beg forgiveness, huh? I'm so sorry it took this long to update. Some things in life you just can't control, sadly.

But anyway, there you have it. The conclusion to the "plot" part of the story. Now the only thing left is the very last chapter, the final step—aka, where the risqué business goes on. So it won't be posted on this site. I'm sorry about that, too. But not all of you want to hear it, and anyway rules are rules. Chapter 12, the "phantom" chapter, will be posted exclusively on adultfanfiction dot net when it is finished, for those who care to read. If I wind up posting it anywhere else I'll say so in my author profile.

And now… omg this about makes me cry… the last round of outtakes!

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: Jak, help, the Flut Flut's after me!

Jak: ((ignore))

Daxter: Jak, it's pecking me! It hurts! Help me!

Jak: ((ignore)) (nibbles cookie unconcernedly)

Daxter: Oh, hey, look—it knocked me down, mauled me, and ripped off my _pants!_

Jak: !! (looks)

Daxter: You ass.

O.O.O.O.O

Jak & Dax: (stagger back into garage)

Sig: Whoa, cherry… you look like a cherry! Is that sunburn?

Daxter: (wince) Ow, ow, ow…

Torn: …let's poke him.

Daxter: NO!!

O.O.O.O.O

Light Jak Shoulder Angel: ((happy sigh)) So everything turned out alright in the end.

Dark Jak Shoulder Devil: Yeah, I guess…

Light: What's the matter? You don't look so hot.

Dark: I always look hot. Warm and fluffy just makes me sick.

Light: Shut up. (beats him with angelic harp) You're ruining the moment.

Dark: (rubs bruised head) Okay, I think this proves I'm not the evil, violent one, here!

Light: (whistles innocently)

O.O.O.O.O

Daxter: So, Jak…

Jak: Yeah?

Dax: Aren't romances supposed ta end with a wedding, or a baby, or somethin'?

Jak: I don't think so. I mean, come on. Us getting married would just be silly, and we're both guys, so we can't have kids. Right…?

Dax: (musing) Well… not necessarily… I am a Precursor, so anything's possible…

Jak: ((sweat)) Daxter, I don't think I like that look in your eyes.

Dax: (smiles sweetly) So Jak… you wanna be the dad, or the mom?

Jak: ….you stay far away from me. (runs)

Dax: Jak, wait, I think you'd be a great mom! Ja-aak!!


End file.
